


The Flames that Consume

by calamitycassie



Series: The Flames that Consume [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Multi, The Flames that Consume, calamitycassie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:15:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 28,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26077846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calamitycassie/pseuds/calamitycassie
Summary: After finding Demanitus' journal, Varian and Calamity find a 5th incantation spell that was deemed too dangerous and destructive to be included with the 4 incantations on the map. After a series of events, Calamity seeks revenge on the Sun and the Moon, scorching everything in her path to destroy them. Varian tries his best to get through to her, but will he succeed?Note: This description and main part of the fanfiction takes place after the end of the series, but I'm including the rest of the story because it solves a few things that were questionable in my brainstorming.
Relationships: Calarian, OC x Varian
Series: The Flames that Consume [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893202
Kudos: 3





	1. Quick Introduction

Hi there! This book has sensitive mature material (smut, emotional complexes and graphic situations)! Please be cautious when reading these chapters, because I will not be putting specific warnings every time something happens. I want things to be shocking when they happen, so please be warned.

Secondly, I'm hoping to have a complex storyline that follows the events of the actual show, but I'm not entirely sure how to put it together yet. This book will be divided into five sections, indicating the corresponding seasons that the show goes through, the 4th and 5th being extremely secret since there is no Season 4 that's canon. I'll be posting Author's Notes answering any questions you guys have, so please, do ask!!!

And lastly, please enjoy! I'm so excited to send out a story that isn't an x Reader that could be enjoyed as one (if you can tolerate replacing Calamity with your name).


	2. Meeting the Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Start of Section 1: This section covers the events of Season One in Tangled: the Series, inserting Calamity Castro as one of the main characters.

It was another normal day in Old Corona. Calamity Castro was spending another day with her best friend, Varian Ruddiger. The young alchemist had grown up with her for the majority of his life, especially since she lived next door to him and their parents were close friends.

Calamity sat on too of the table, the early morning sun shining through the window behind her. She watched Varian scramble around his alchemy table by hers with wide eyes as he set another explosion off. A purple colored fog filled the lab's floor as she laughed at him, happy he actually had his mask on this time.

"Hey, don't laugh! I almost had it!" He turned around, looking at her after lifting up his face cover.

"Ahh, I know, but hey! It is funny, isn't it?" She leaned forward a little, sitting closer to the edge.

He waved her off in the sassy way he usually did, flipping the cover back down. Calamity never liked it as much since it had made his voice much deeper and scarier.

As he went back to work, Cal could hear footsteps outside the door to his lab. Her eyes shifted from his back to the door, seeing it fling open and allowing the purple fog to go out of the room.

"Uhhh.. Varian?" Calamity asked quietly, seeing two figures appear.

"Don't worry, it's just fog.. I'm sure it's fine-" A young lady's voice came from the front of the lab, and at this point Varian had noticed, freezing in place.

One of his many traps went off, keeping the two strangers from going any further into his lab. The second one who hadn't spoken drew a sword and put an arm out in front of the other.

Cal's eyes widened as Varian approached the two.

"What do you want?" The girl who spoke started acting shy due to his changed voice.

"Um, hi.. We're so sorry to bother you, sir, but we wanted to ask you about my hair? Because you're such a magic exper-"

"Magic!? I do not work with magic!" He flipped up his face mask again, staring at the two. Calamity laughed in the background as he went on a short ramble. "I mean, technically it's not magic, it's alchemy- but yeah, don't- don't sweat it!"

"Ah.. Got it..." The blonde girl, presumably the princess, laughed nervously while looking down at her trapped feet. "So.. What is this?"

"Oh, it's a chemical compund of uh.. My own design, thank you. So, we have a bit of a critter problem out here, and through the miracle of modern alchemy, I have found a humane way to solve the problem." Varian had taken a raccoon from the same mess they were trapped in and ushered him out the door of the lab.

Cal, from her table, couldn't stop staring at him, a dumb smile on her face while she listened to him ramble. The girl with dark hair that had accompanied the Princess spoke up. "This is riveting, but could you get us out of here?"

"Ha, where is that neutralizing parti- oh! Come-- get out of here..!" He pushed the raccoon back out of the lab and shut the door, heading back over to the two and sprinkling his solution over their feet.

"I am so sorry.. Your Highness.." Varian bowed his head while kneeling in front of her, closing his eyes.

"'Your Highness?' Wait.. You know who I am?" She looked down at him in both shock and amusement.

"Uh.. How could I not?" He asked, laughing a little as looked up and gestured to her. "Look at your hair!" He laughed again before he toned his voice down. "Uh.. Your Highness.." He cleared his throat, smiling as he stood up.

"Oh, please.. Just Rapunzel."

"Wow.. Really? Okay, so fantastical stories about your hair returning have spread throughout Corona-" As he went on rambling again, Calamity could be heard laughing in the back as she cleaned up her art supplies to make the space presentable. "Yeah, people say it's magic, but personally, I don't really believe that. Now, as you have probably guessed, I am a man of science, specifically al-"

He had wandered around her, looking at her hair while ranting before he was interrupted by the Princess' friend. "Alchemy- we know. Now listen, kid, we need your help, but let me make something clear." She picked him up by his shirt collar, pulling him close. "What happens here, stays here. Got it?" She spoke in a stern voice, causing Cal to snap her attention back to the group.

"Is.. Everything okay?" She asked, shyly approaching them from behind a few of her art shelves.

"Oh.. Hello," Rapunzel began, "are you a friend of Varian's?"

"Yeah.. I'm Calamity.. Is he okay..?" She asked meekly, pointing over at him since her friend still held him up.

"Oh.. Cass, he's fine. I trust him."

He was let go, which relieved Cal. She went back to cleaning her workspace with a smile, to which Rapunzel wandered over and looked at all of her work.

"Wow.. Did you.. Paint these yourself?" She asked, eyes wide in awe.

"Yes, actually.. These of people were done when Varian needed to go into town for more supplies, so I usually joined him.."

"Aww, they're all so wonderful!" She had pointed to one of the castle from the kingdom gates. "And this! I feel like I'm there!"

Calamity washed up her hands, drying them and putting her cleaned brushes away. "Thank you, Your-"

"No no no, same with you." She laughed, stopping her from bowing. "Just Rapunzel is fine.."

Later during their visit, Varian had Rapunzel lay on a long examination table while Cassandra kept a close eye on her. While examining her hair, Varian figured he should state the obvious.

"Oh, yes, this, this, ah, it's very... Long." He lowered the mobile magnifying glass he had been using. "Oh no, don't worry, Your High-" he stopped himself before resuming with a smile. "Rapunzel. I am sure, that I, Varian, can unlock the mystery of your hair with the power of science!" He swung around the glass, causing it to hit his head. "Ow!" Putting his hand on the back of his head, he brought it back to see blood. "No sweat, it's just a little..."

From across the room, Cal heard his voice getting quieter, rushing over to catch the boy as he fainted.

"Does.. This happen often..?" Rapunzel asked, nervously looking down at Varian.

"Here and there.." Cal gently brought him up to sit in a nearby chair. "He's hemophobic.. Doesn't like the sight of blood.."

When he finally woke back up, Rapunzel had placed a bundle of her hair on his head and began singing.

"Bring back what once was mine.. What once was mine.."

Varian looked at her with uncertainty, and Cal looked at him with worry in her eyes.

When she had finished singing, she looked at him with hope in her eyes. "Better?"

"Oh yeah--" he checked the palm of his glove again, seeing blood. "Noo!"

Calamity rushed to the cabinets in the lab for a first aid kit, returning and caring for the place he had hit on the back of his head.

"Huh.. That used to work."

"Well, silver lining," Varian said, looking at her hair while Calamity tended to him. "We've acquired some critical data about your hair. It no longer possesses its legendary healing power. Progress!" He shouted, jumping up out of his seat with her hair just as Cal had bandaged up the wound.

"Now, let's figure out exactly what this hair is made of."

He uncovered a large machine, pulling the tarp to the floor. "This machine can analyze any substance for chemical makeup, bitopic composition, and urgu-structural integrity." As he stepped onto the platform, he hit a piece that made a special, smaller platform raise up. "I built it myself."

"Nice!" Rapunzel shouted, very enthusiastic while Cass remained unimpressed.

"If I'm right, this should tell us all there is to know about your hair." He jumped down to the control center, where Calamity sat. She usually loved to watch him work on his experiments.

"Raps, are you sure you wanna-" Cass butted in, but was in shock to see her already strapped in. "Rapunzel!?"

"Let's do this!" The Princess said with a determined look in her eyes.

"Okay! Rapunzel.." He laughed a bit, glancing at Cal. She only laughed, knowing he was still getting used to it. "Now, um, this may get a little-"

"Exciting!?" She was practically jumping in place out of enthusiasm.

"Um, sure! Yeah! That's a good word for it." Varian pulled a couple of levers, starting the machine. It began whirring her around, pulling her hair in all directions.

"Oh-ho.." She said, calming down as it had stopped.

"And there we are! Done." Varian said happily.

"All right, not super fun, but it's over." Rapunzel laughed nervously, looking over at the alchemist.

"Ha! Oh, sorry. Yeah, I-I meant done with the first test." He fidgeted a little, looking back at his friend with a little nervousness as well. Cal just shrugged, not saying a word. "But, uh, don't worry, only 86 more to go!" He looked back at the blonde happily before starting up the machine again.

A man appeared in the window behind the machine, looking in with a shocked expression.

Varian and the others hadn't noticed, as the saw against Rapunzel's hair was very loud.

"Amazing!!!" He shouted, ducking both him and Calamity down as the saw blade had now broken and flown in their direction. He moved back up, unphased. "You were right, it's absolutely unbreakable!"

Calamity and Varian turned back to look at the lab door slamming open as a man stood in the entrance. "But I'm betting you're not! Let her go." He shouted over the noise of another test.

Rapunzel had looked nervously at him, smiling wide. "Eugene..! Heyyy..!" Varian and Calamity's expressions lit up as the man had calmed down. "Blondie, you're okay! You wanna tell me what's going on here?"

After a moment of silence and stern glares from Cassandra, Rapunzel responded with a shaky laugh.

"You know what? I don't care. I'm getting you out of there."

"Hey! You're Flynn Rider!!!" Varian and Calamity both shouted as Eugene raced up on the platform.

"No. You don't know what you're talking about. I've never seen you two before in my life. You can't prove anything!"

Varian had laughed nervously, covering his face while Cal looked at him with wide eyes. "We are your biggest fans..!" He ran over to a curtain, pulling a rope to reveal a small shrine. "See?" He sais, proudly glancing at it.

Eugene first stared with shock, but then lightened up. "Hey, now! Flynn Rider, nice to be met."

"We used to see your wanted posters all the time!" Cal said happily, heading over to stand next to Varian. "You're our hero!" Varian continued.

"Oh, well, 'hero' is a bit much.." Eugene said, laughing a little in amusement.

Carrying a stack of the Flyn, Rider books, Varian continued speaking, dropping most of them. "We've read every single book about you together!"

"Oh.. Well, um, you see, that's not actually me.." Eugene said, picking up a book and pointing at it. "I just took the name from the book."

With their makeshift swords, Varian acted out a battle with Calamity. "Hey, hey! Remember the time you fueled that evil knight, blindfolded?" He asked, opening a book to that chapter.

"No, no, not me. Do you wanna put those down?" He asked, stepping back.

As chatter from Rapunzel and Cassandra happened in the background, Varian kept talking Eugene while 'fighting' Cal. "Tell us how you took on the Earl of Camembert!"

"Also not me." Stepping back to the girls, he gestured to them. "Would someone please explain to me who these children are?"

"I'm Varian!" He said, swinging his sword around and blowing up chemicals that broke the table in half. As glass shattered, Cal flinched and Varian fumbled his sword. "Hot, hot, hot!" He ended up tossing it into the shrine, incinerating the one good poster of Eugene and his nose.

"Oh, come on!"

The group stopped everything as they felt rumbling through the building, a few small pebbles falling from the ceiling.

"What was that trembling?" Eugene asked, looking around at the ceiling of the room.

Varian ignored it, smiling innocently. "Trembling? I didn't notice any trembling." He looked over at Calamity across the room, a small laugh leaving his lips before he realized something. "Oh, yeah! Almost forgot the spectrometric press! It's the only way I can read the results of the test! Flynn Rider, wanna come with?" He began walking away, smiling back at his childhood hero knowing he would be interested.

"Ohhh, no." Eugene said with a flat expression.

"Hey!" Varian smiled wide, turning around to look at him. "If, if you come, I can show you something really special, but um.. You've got to keep it a secret."

Eugene's brown eyes lit up. "You want to tell me a secret?" He asked, making his way over. He held his hand up to his ear, saying happily, "Did you hear that, everyone? Varitas-- V-Var.." Calamity laughed as he struggled with his name.

"Varian!" He shouted back, looking happy with his bright blue eyes.

Eugene smiled, closing his eyes as he bragged in front of Rapunzel and Cassandra. "A complete stranger wants to tell me a secret!" He strolled over, following Varian out of the lab while Calamity was left with the other girls.

"Is he.. usually like that?" Calamity asked the two shyly, her voice barely going over a mumble.

"The bragging? Oh yeah, that happens all the time." Cass laughed, and Rapunzel only shrugged.

As the door to his lab shut, Varian was stopped by Eugene who spoke in a hushed tone. "Listen, buddy, I need you to tell me everything that the princess told you." Varian smiled up at him, feeling very proud of himself.

"Oh, yeah. Well, okay, first she said, 'We're looking for Varian,' and then I said, 'I am Varian!' Ha!" He changed his voice, making different actions according to who was speaking in his retelling. "And then she said, 'Uh, hi, sorry to bother you, sir, but I wanna ask you about my hair.'" He flipped up his bangs before interrupting himself. "Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you about the raccoon trap. So, there was-"

Eugene interrupted him, face palming as he spoke again. "Yes, that's great, but what I meant is, tell me all the important stuff she said."

Varian now spoke in a serious tone, pointing a finger at him. "Mr. Rider, when the Princess of Corona speaks directly to you," he leaned back and waved his hands, "every word is important." He continued walking, and Eugene had just facepalmed once more as he followed him.

In a separate section of his house, Varian rummaged around various shelves while speaking to Eugene. "I know that press is here somewhere, Flynn."

In frustration, Eugene looked down at the boy. "Again, it's Eugene."

Suddenly, Varian unveiled a small typewriter and spoke in a happy tone. "Here it is! And, once the tests are done, it'll print the results on parchment paper-"

"That's muy interesante," Eugene interrupted, but getting back to what the princess said-" He, himself, was interrupted by another sudden burst of rumbling under their feet. "Why does that keep happening?" Eugene looked at Varian with clear worry and confusion in his eyes.

Varian shot up from where he was kneeled on the ground, excitement clear in his words. "Flynn Rider! I believe I promised you..." He paused dramatically, opening up a cellar door in the floor of his house. "A secret."

They both climbed down the ladder into a small section of tunnels rather than a cellar. "Now, if my dad knew I was down here, he'd kill me." He laughed as he waited for Eugene with a lantern. The large space was very dark, and light from his house was shining brightly down from the open hatch. "Of course, if he knew what I was actually doing down here, he'd probably be impressed, or at least I hope he'd be impressed." His expression showed a little sadness before cheering up almost immediately. "These tunnels run through my entire village, which, make them perfect for my project!"

Eugene only looked at him with confusion as he followed him. "What project?"

He realized he spoke too quickly, since they were quickly approaching a large boiler-like machine. It lit up its small section of the tunnels, large pipes spreading through the area in different directions. "This project." Varian spoke confidently, lifting up his lantern to shed a little more light over it.

The machine creaked a little as Eugene stared at it. "I don't get it.."

Varian stepped over to a large barrel filled with a red, glowing substance. "Through the miracle of alchemy, not magic, I have found a way to heat this entire tank of water with a single drop of my newest, yet to be named compound.." He set his lantern down on a large table, on which a beaker of a green, glowing substance was found. He picked it up in his hands, raising it in the air. "Which I'll call Flynnoleum!"

"I still don't get it." Eugene raised his eyebrow at Varian.

"I'm gonna surprise my village by bringing the people hot, running water!" The boiler creaked behind him as another drop of his chemical heated up the water once more. He laughed before speaking again. "I've constructed five of these babies all throughout the caverns."

"Wait, wait, wait.. These- these tremors.. your machines are causing them?"

"Oh, no, no, no.." Varian waved his hands around, smiling a little. "My machines are not causing them. The chemical reactions they trigger do." He took a drop of Flynnoleum and put it into the red barrel, causing an explosion.

Eugene made his way over to him. "And no one else knows you're doing this? Okay, listen, kiddo.. I'm no expert in.. whatever this is, but anything that can cause earthquakes cannot be safe. We've gotta warn people about this."

Varian panicked a little, his eyes showing fear. "No! We can't! Okay? You gave me your word you'd keep this a secret. And besides, I am an expert, and this is all perfectly safe."

As soon as he spoke, one of the bolts came loose from the machine, shooting right in between the two without hitting them. They looked at each other in a moment of silence, Varian waving it off. "Yeah, it does- does that all the time."

Back in the lab, Cal was left to monitor the machine as Rapunzel continued her tests, Cassandra still keeping a close eye on her. She was trusted by the Princess, but was still a stranger. She needed to be careful.

Rapunzel's voice shook as the machine rattled her around. "Only 12 more tests to go!" The bell dinged, docking another test from the counter. "Yay!!!" Calamity couldn't help but laugh at her reaction before starting the next test. Cassandra had a small smile on her face, but still eyed Cal suspiciously, given her mistrust.

Varian had run back into the lab carrying the press. "Team Awesome is baaaack!" He laughed, setting the press by the machine.

Cal fake pouted, crossing her arms. "I thought we were Team Awesome, Varian!"

"No, no, no.. We're Team Artchemy, Cal. Remember?"

Cal smiled, and turned her attention back to the Princess as she heard her "aweing." "Awwwe, aren't you two the cutest! How long have you been friends?"

"Since forever.. Our parents were really close and we were raised together." Cal smiled over at Rapunzel.

Varian hooked the press up to the machine, moving on to another subject pretty quickly. "Now, Rapunzel, I know my tests have been a pain in the hm-hm.."

"Aw, I wouldn't say pain."

Just as she spoke, the next test initiated, and electricity crackled around her hair. The room lit up in a brilliant cyan blue, as everyone but Varian flinched back from the bright light. As her hair frizzled with sparks, she sighed. "Uh, now I would.."

As he leaned over the press, Varian spoke to the group. "In a moment, this little guy.." He paused, laughing a little, kicking it lightly with his foot, "he'll give us all the answers we want."

Rapunzel cheered, excited. "Woo hoo! Answers!"

Cassandra finally spoke up once again, a smug look on her face. "Sooo, Eugene!" She made her way over to him, circling around him. "Got yourself a secret, huh?"

"If you wanna call it that. The kid ha-- uh-uh, nice try, Cass!" He crossed his arms, snapping at her while she kept her smug look. Their conversation was interrupted once again by another rumble through the building. More pebbles were falling from the ceiling, and Eugene looked at the Princess. "Look, Raps, I think it's time to go. Now." He spoke sternly, pointing to the ground.

"Now? You're kidding, right? This is almost finished!" Rapunzel looked at him in nervous disbelief while Varian looked shocked. The bell dinged, and another test was docked from the counter.

Eugene made his way over to Varian, mumbling to him. "Can we talk?"

"Uh-hah, of course. That's what Team Awesome does!" As soon as he agreed, Eugene yanked him away, taking him outside.

"Those things down there are dangerous!"

"Dangerous? No, they're not dangerous, I- I have adjusted my calculations for every possible outcome." Varian continued speaking as Eugene facepalmed once more, pacing around. "Uh, the margin of error is, is less than .56 percent, or.. now, wait, was it .57?"

Eugene kneeled down to meet Varian at eye level. "I don't know! Look, Varian. I think you're a good kid, a, a smart kid, and you got great intentions. But I'm asking you, pleading with you, for the love of my life, and your entire village, to please shut off those machines unitl a seisma-quake-atologist can come inspect them!" Varian looked at him worriedly and Eugene held his shoulders. "Please! Do it for Team Awesome."

Another rumble struck the village, causing Varian to waver a little as he stood in his place. "I.. suppose I can turn them down... a bit." Varian ran off to his house while Eugene ran back inside the lab.

As he came back in, another test was docked from the counter. "All right! Six more tests. Then we can leave, right? Go someplace far away? Really, really far away." Eugene asked, acting like nothing had happened outside.

Cassandra butted in, her arms crossed. "Why do you want us to leave so bad?"

Calamity still stood at the test controls, looking at him a little worriedly. "And where did Varian go?"

Eugene laughed a little. "Uhh, he went to check on something. And Cass, you can stay! In fact, it'd be great if you stayed. That way, when these things blow- Oh boy, never mind."

The three girls looked at him in shock. "Whoa, wait! What did you just say?" Cassandra shouted and Cal realized he was speaking about Varian's project.

"Shoot, I told him these were a bad idea!" Cal left the controls, rushing out of the lab and to Varian's house.

"Okay, Varian. I, uh, I guess it was .57.. Ha.." Varian spoke nervously as Calamity rushed down the ladder.

"Varian, what's going on!? Didn't you listen to me before?" She asked, running up to him next to the boiler.

"Cal, no, you can't be down here! You have to go, I don't want you getting hurt!"

"No, you know that's not an option." She tied her hair back, looking at him with determined eyes. "What do I do to help?"

Back in the lab as the last few tests were running, Rapunzel looked at her boyfriend with worry. "Eugene, what is wrong with you?"

"Okay, you wanna know why we have to go?" Another test had run and blue smoke filled the small lab.

In the tunnels, Varian was using a wrench to pull out bolts while Cal was doing the same on other pipes. While working, Varian accidentally spilled the Flynnoleum off of the table he was laying on, and the beaker smashed on the ground.

"Ohhh, no. The Flynnoleum!!!"

Calamity looked back at him in a panic, her eyes filled with fear as she saw the green liquid on the floor.

"Look, I tried to show you I could keep a secret, but I can't!" Eugene spoke to his girlfriend while flames burned under her hair. "This kid--" As he was explaining, another rumble was sent through the earth, shaking the whole lab.

Varian and Calamity struggled to clean up the spilled chemical, not noticing that it was getting scarily close to the red liquid from the spilled over barrel.

"Cal, we have to go!"

"But the boilers!"

"No, we have to go!!!" He grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the tunnels.

Another test was completed as Eugene continued his explanation. "Varian's got five of these huge, highly-pressurized underground machines, and they are clearly unstable. I think they could blow up any minute!" The girls looked at him with fear, and just like that, several spots in the ground in the village had exploded, shooting up large bursts of dust and gravel. "And that minute is now."

"Get me out of this machine!" Rapunzel struggled as she wiggled in the straps of the machine, and another test had started, stopping anyone from getting up to her. "Um, guys? Hurry!"

Eugene went to the control center, pulling switches and pressing buttons in a panic while he glanced back at the explosions outside. Cassandra grabbed her sword and hit at the machine, which only repelled it to get stuck in the beams of the building. Eugene grabbed the makeshift sword Varian had used earlier and jammed it into the machine, causing it to stop.

The two tried their best to open up the machine. "Give me your arm!" Cass shouted over the loud noises from outside.

"Eugene!" The group froze as they looked out a window in front of them, seeing Varian run around the village in a hurry.

"Varian, Calamity! They're gonna get themselves killed!"

Cass rushed over to the lab door. "Get her outta here, I'll get the kid!" Just as she had ran out, a beam fell from his lab entrance and another test had completed on the machine.

"It's over!" Rapunzel gasped as the press began printing. "Uh, I need those results!" The ceiling began crumbling, and a section of the roof came down and crushed Varian's printing press. "No!"

A section of building behind Varian's lab had crumbled, falling to the ground with smoke billowing from where it once stood.

Cassandra ran around the village frantically, chasing after Varian and Calamity. After dodging several large rocks crashing into the ground, she finally caught up to the two and grabbed Varian's arm. Calamity stopped, looking back at the two in a panic.

"Listen, kid! We gotta get outta here!"

Varian struggled to get out of her grip. "No, no! No, I've got three pumps to shut off, and I can't let this happen again!" He looked back at Cassandra with worry and tried to get away just as an explosion went off. Both Cal and Varian flinched back, and a pipe made their way over to them. Calamity had managed to run out of the way to find her own safe space, but Cass hugged Varian close.

As smoke and dust filled the village, a dim gray lighting fell over everything. Cassandra crawled out of the pipe, helping Varian up. Neither of them had been injured, to Calamity's relief, as she emerged from her shelter.

He sighed in relief, smiling at Cass as she leaned on the rim of the pipe. "Thank you, m'lady.." He looked at her with love-struck eyes before smiling wide. Cass only groaned out of annoyance, before they were interrupted by Varian's dad. He was searching under rubble that littered the streets, calling out for him.

"Uh oh.. It's my dad.." He got out of the pipe with Cass, Calamity making her way over to them.

"Are you okay? What happened?" His dad kneeled down , holding his shoulders as he spoke in a panic.

Varian looked to the ground in shame. "Dad, I'm sorry.."

His father only sighed, looking at him in disappointment. "Not again, Varian.."

He backed away, turning back to face the rest of the villagers. "But, Dad--"

"Is everybody okay?"

As he consulted with the village people, Cassandra placed a hand on Varian's shoulder. Cal pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry, Varian.." Cal mumbled, rubbing his back as he held on to her tightly.

For the remainder of the day, both Calamity and Varian had helped the rest of the village clean and repair everything that had been destroyed, and Rapunzel, Cassandra and Eugene had made their way back to Corona.

A/N: Finally! A month of development and 4,184 words later, I have the first chapter of my story out! I am open to criticism, so please tell me if you think I could improve on anything!


	3. Unfortunate Pasts

For the last 6 years, Varian and Calamity had been living together, though she technically wasn't part of the family.

The two had connected the first day they met in Old Corona, when Calamity Castro and her father had moved in across the way in a modest house. The father, Silas, was quiet, and the only expressions heard from him were ordering his 7 year old daughter around to help them move in.

Peeking from the window in his kitchen, an 8 year old Varian Ruddiger had gained curiosity about the little girl since had nobody his age to play with. When everything seemed settled across the street, Varian glanced into the garden to see his father working on the crops. He took this opportunity to wrap up a few cookies in a cloth and bring them over as an attempt to make a friend.

Knocking on the wooden door, Varian waited patiently for the front door to open. Soon enough, the door slowly creaked open as the girl struggled to hold the doorknob. "Hello?" She asked, her voice tiny and soft.

"Hi! I'm Varian, I live across the street with my dad!" He pointed back to the house before holding out the sack of cookies. "I brought these for you to welcome you to Old Corona!"

The girl didn't smile at first, but instead peeked behind her before slowly heading out onto her porch. "My papa is sleeping.. He would be mad if we made too much noise.." She whispered. "Follow me, I know a place we can talk..!" She took his hand, running off the porch steps and ran behind her house to a large field of flowers. Since he had only played in his back yard, Varian became wide-eyed at the sight in front of him.

Cal at this point had run down the short hill, looking back at him from the flowers. He now noticed her amber eyes as they were complimented by the yellow dandelions.

"Coming?" She called out, snapping him out of his trance. He followed her down the hill excitedly, the bag of cookies swaying in his hand.

They sat in the flowers that afternoon, eating cookies and getting to know each other. As the day went by, they wandered the small field, occasionally stopping as Calamity began picking the dandelions. He helped her when her hands got full, and as the late afternoon Sun shined over the field, they each made tiny flower crowns out of the fragile flowers.

"Hey.." Varian mumbled while struggling with his work. "How come you like dandelions so much? I thought they were bad weeds.."

She looked at him innocently, smiling bright. "My papa calls me his dandelion! He says they're weeds too, but I think he calls me that because they're my favorite flower."

He looked at her a little sadly before putting on a big smile. "Why don't we make a daisy crown next? Those are my favorite flowers!"

Varian and Calamity had known each other for a couple of weeks, spending their days in the flower field. He had run out of cookies to share with her one day and invited her to his house for lunch.

"Lunch..?" She asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "Oh, no.. I couldn't.."

"No, please.. I don't want to go home alone for food and chance coming back to see you gone." As he spoke, she frowned, but she smiled quickly when he looked back to her.

"Okay! Let's go back, then!" She said happily, taking his hand and running up the small hill from the field. He led her to his house and knocked on his front door, even though he could have walked in.

His father opener the door, smiling at his son. "Varian? Why didn't you just walk in?"

"I wanted to ask if my friend could come in for lunch! This is Calamity, she moved in across the street."

Quirin kneeled down to meet the little girl, smiling. "Calamity? What a beautiful name!" He spoke politely, though he wondered why someone would name their child after turmoil and pain.

"Thank you.. Can I come in for lunch, please?" Her voice was polite and her eyes were soft. He couldn't help but notice a small start to a scratch hidden by her bangs, but he ignored it for now and stood up, inviting them inside. "Of course, Calamity, you're welcome in our home."

The two had brought their lunches to the dining room table, talking excitedly about different types of flowers they liked. Calamity rolled up her sleeves before eating, revealing a series of bruises on her arms. If it weren't for the small amount of food she had taken compared to Varian, Quirin would have brushed it off as her being a kid. But it was too strange.. She was small for a girl her age, had bruises and a cut, and took much less food than his son. He was happy to see Varian give her another roll when she had finished her plate, even if he saw it as keeping her at the table longer.

A loud voice erupted from outside, amd Calamity froze up, clutching the bread roll in her small hand. "That's my dad.. I have to go home, now.." She muttered, putting down her food and getting down from her seat. She went towards the door before stopping and turning around, hugging Varian and thanking them both. She ran out of the house and across the street to her dad.

Quirin came out to the front porch to make sure she made it home safely, dismayed when he saw her flinch as her father spoke. He couldn't quite hear, but when he shouted while pointing at the door and she nodded, meekly walking inside, he knew something was wrong.

A few months had passed, and it was nearing midnight in Old Corona. Calamity hugged her old stuffed rabbit, sitting up cross-legged in her bed while her father was having another episode downstairs. Glass could be heard crashing against the walls, likely a few of the numerous beer bottles he had littered around the house.

After things had fallen silent, Calamity looked fearfully at her bedroom door and the forgotten door lock as Silas made his way up the stairs. She clutched her rabbit, going to the edge of her bed and getting ready to run. As soon as her door opened, she stood up, fear in her eyes as the moonlight shined through her open window.

"I should have dropped you at the orphanage.. I regret every day that I hadn't.. Every day is the same painful reminder that yOU KILLED MY WIFE."

When he made a move for her, she dodged out of the way. She stared at him as he fell drunkenly on the floor, but didn't remain to watch. She ran down the stairs and quickly pulled her boots on, navigating around the shattered glass on the floor. She burst through the front door, racing across the street with her stuffed animal in hand.

When she made it to Varian's front door, she pounded on it, screaming for someone to let her in.

Quirin pulled open the door, frightened to see the little girl crying for help.

"Please-! I need to h-hide!"

He looked up from her face to her house, seeing her father stumbling out of the front door. He ushered her in quickly, slamming the door shut and locking it securely.

From the sudden noise, Varian came out of his room, rubbing his eyes as he hugged his pet raccoon. "Daddy? What's going on?" He asked, standing at the too of the stairs.

He looked up at his son, holding Calamity securely as she hugged his leg. "Varian, listen to me carefully.. I need you to take Calamity down to your lab, lock the door, and don't come out until I say it's okay."

Varian made his way down the stairs with his pet, looking at her questioningly. "Why?"

"Do as I said, Varian, okay?"

He nodded and took her hand, leading her to the basement where his lab was located. Helping her in and following after her, he locked the door. He comforted Calamity on the cold stone floor, leading her to the couch that rested against a wall.

They sat there together, Varian trying his best to distract her from her tears. Though she kept crying, her sobs turned into sniffles as they played with Ruddiger.

From that point on, Quirin took Calamity in. Although she wasn't his daughter, he knew that he would be able to raise her better than Silas ever could with his words and violence.

She has moved in to his house, sharing Varian's room with him. The first few nights, though she had her own bed, she ended up sleeping with Varian because of her nightmares. Though she was away from the trouble, she couldn't escape the breaking glass and forming bruises in her dreams. She had always woken up around 1 a.m., to which Varian got up and comforted her. She could only fall asleep and stay asleep by his side. He made her feel safe; he was her protection.

One day Varian gave her a doll that looked like him, hoping it would help with her nightmares. "I don't mind sharing my space.. But I know it's difficult to keep waking up in the middle of the night with scary dreams like that.."

She accepted it and held it close each night. It was now her protection and she slept soundly until the Sun peeked through the curtains.

About two years later, when Calamity was 9 years old ans Varian was 10, her father had completely given up. In the middle of the night, he resorted to the flames. It started with his fireplace, but he realized the smoke wouldn't do him in. He needed to get rid of everything. He reluctantly grabbed a burning log from the fire, and carelessly set the curtains on fire. He relaxed in the living room as the flamed grew, welcoming the heat.

Across the street, Calamity had mistaken the bright flames for the Sun. She got up, noticing a different shade of light filling the room than usual. She shot up from her bed, doll in hand, crawling over Varian to look through the curtains in his room. She gasped, seeing home she moved into not but 2 years ago in flames.

"Papa!!!" She screamed, causing Varian to sit up. He looked out in fear at the burning house across the street, getting up quickly to get his father down the hall.

"Dad! Dad, there's a fire!!!"

Quirin shot up at his son's scared voice, heading quickly down the stairs and to the front porch. He stared in disbelief as the glow of the fire filled his section of the village. He snapped out of it as he had to pick up Calamity and stop her from running to the fire. "Cal, no! You can't go over there, you'll get hurt!"

"MY PAPA IS IN THERE!!! I HAVE TO- I HAVE TO!!!"

"It's too late! Calamity, I'm sorry, but you can't do anything about it!"

She gave up and broke down crying, and he set her down, knowing she wouldn't go to the fire. Varian and Quirin hugged her tightly as the heat radiated from her house.

Now, a powerful connection to fire had grown in Calamity's heart. Tragedy had struck her in flames.


	4. Crushing Hurts

"Today's the day, Calamity!" Varian spoke excitedly as he prepared his cart for the travel to the town square. "The Science Exposition is in Corona and all I have to do is show them this baby, and.." He patted the cloth-covered machine, smiling to himself as Cal joined his side. "I'll finally make my father proud."

She placed a caring hand on his shoulder, smiling at him. "I'm certain they're gonna give you that first place ribbon, Var.. I mean, this thing you invented-- it's amazing! I don't think anyone could outdo your machine."

"Thanks, Cal.. Your support means so much to me, I'm so happy to have a friend like you." With that, he left her side with a big, innocent smile plastered on his lips. As he hopped onto the wagon to begin their trip into town, she sighed, lagging behind for a moment.

"Right.. A friend." She spoke glumly before taking a deep breath and cheering herself up again. At least he was still her best friend, and nothing could change that! Right?

The two separated when they got to the palace square, Varian to set prepare for his presentation and Calamity to look at the different inventions.

While passing by the entrance, Varian spotted a familiar face from when he and Cal had first met the princess a couple of weeks prior. He cleared his throat before catching Cassandra's attention. "Who's ready for the expo?"

Looking back at him, Cass only rolled her eyes and groaned in annoyance before going back to work on tying up a banner.

"Hey, Cassie!" He continued, thinking he hadn't quite grabbed her attention. "Hey, you wanna see my new invention? Rumor has it, it is a shoo-in for the first prize in the contest. I started the rumor.." He whispered the last part before winking up at her.

Looking back down at him, Cass leaned against the top of her ladder. "Oh. Hey, Varian. First off, it's Cass, not Cassie. Secondly, I'm slammed, so--"

"Oh, yeah, I-I hear ya.." He smiled up at her, ignoring her clear disinterest. "Hey, so did I tell you that my invention can create an entirely new element? I call it--" Varian had been interrupted by a palace guard stepping in between him and Cass.

"Cassandra, I thought you should know, the Captain is short on guards for the expo. This could be your big chance!" She smiled wide and slid down from the ladder, dragging him away from the entrance and leaving Varian behind.

Just then, the rope that held the banner for the exposition had began slipping off the pole, and Varian rushed up the abandoned ladder to retie it.

"Cassandra! Lookin' good!" Varian turned his attention to the Princess, running up to him while wearing a pair of binoculars attached to a helmet. "You should see some of the inventions on display! Look at these crazy goggles!" Focusing the lens while Eugene trailed behind her, Rapunzel realized who she was really speaking to. "Oh. Hi, Varian! I haven't seen you since we--"

Hopping down the ladder, Varian joined them while Eugene interrupted. "Since your last invention almost killed us. So glad you're here.. With what looks like another invention."

Holding out his arms, Varian stepped closer. "Please, I wouldn't miss a chance to promote the merits of alchemy. And wait until you see my invention. I think, uh, everyone at the expo will be impressed." He said sassily, leaning over his covered machine. He laughed nervously before continuing. "Cassandra's gonna be here, right? Not that I'm doing this for Cassandra!" He leaned back, taking offense to his own words and shyly hiding his face. "But, yes, she's gonna be there, right..?"

After a little while of exploring the different displays, Calamity spotted Varian a little ways away. "Hey, Varian!" She said, happily running over to him.

"Oh, hey Cal! What have you been up to?"

"Oh, just looking at the competition.. Nobody has anything on your invention! And hey.. Do you still need help with it? Weren't you saying you needed an assistant?"

"It is.. I do, but.. I was going to ask Cassandra for help. I've got a surprise for her after my presentation in front of the judge." He smiled to himself, not noticing the clear pain in her eyes.

"O-Okay.." She faked another smile, nodding her head weakly. "Well, then.. I wish you good luck, Varian.."

"Thanks again, Cal.. I'm gonna need it." He smiled over at where she would have been if she hadn't run off. "Cal..?"

Varian had made his way to the dining area of the expo, spotting Cass making sure everything was perfect at one particular table. "There you are, Cass-not-Cassie. We, uh, we didn't finish our conversation from earlier." He laughed a little as he leaned against one of the tables.

"I did." She spoke bluntly, going back to her work.

"Oh, you! Seriously, I'm getting ready for the expo, and I think you'll be pretty impressed with my invention, yeah." He spoke rather quickly, trying to get to his point. "The only thing is, when I present it to Master Dr. St. Croix, it's gonna take two people to operate it.. Hey! Wanna be the assistant for my demonstration?"

He looked at her with hopeful eyes while Cass looked at him confused. "Assistant? What? Assis-- No. Look--" While she was speaking, she had overfilled a glass, spilling the drink onto the cloth. "No!" She gasped, "I can't catch a break today."

When she had run off, Varian examined the stain on the cloth, taking a vial from his apron and sprinkling a pinch of something over it, taking water from the vase on the table and adding it over the stain.

With that, the stain disappeared and he stood back in place with a smug look as Cass came back to clean up the stain. "Varian, thanks for stopping by, but I- wha-???" She looked at where it used to be in disbelief, her eyes wide. "Huh? The stain. It's gone! But how?"

He shrugged it off. "Oh, simple. Grapes are acidic, by combining the alkalinity from the flowers' barley grass with rock salt, I was able to stop the stain's adhesion. Alchemy!" He closed his eyes, holding a hand to his chest when he was done explaining.

Okay. This kid is useful, and Cass knew she could take advantage of that. "Soo, you've got a knack for this kind of thing.. Any chance you'd want to.."

"Help you? Yes!" He leaned forward, eagerness in his eyes, which caused Cass to step back. Calming down, his voice got quieter. "I, I mean I'd-- I'd love to.. Hey! If, if I help you, you can help me and be my assistant! It'll only take a minute!"

"Um... Deal."

"Great! We- We can be, uh.. co-ladies-in-waiting." He laughed at his own joke before she tossed a large pile of laundry at him. 

Dusting off her hands as she walked away, she smirked back at him. "Let's not put a label on it."

Throughout the day, Varian helped her with shining silver utensils, cleaning hallways, reviving dead plants and many other tasks on her duties list.

While shining picture frames in one of the many palace halls, Cass passed by him. "Huh, look at that. You make a pretty good co-lady-in-waiting after all."

He laughed at her comment, leaning on the top step of the ladder. "Oh, really? You sure you wanna put a label on it?"

"Okay," she said, stepping up and setting a bucket down on one of the steps, "so I could've been a little nicer earlier.. It's just, today's kind of a big deal for me."

She stepped down from the ladder, and he looked at her a bit sadly. "Oh, you're talking about getting that guard assignment from your dad, aren't you?" He joined her off the ladder, listening to her with a sad expression.

"No matter how much I want it or how hard I work, his standards for me are higher than they are for anyone else.."

"Yeah.. My dad's kind of hard to impress too..." He looked down for a moment, before shrugging. "Dads.. Am I right?" He laughed a little, trying to cheer her up. She smiled faintly before snapping out of it.

"Ugh, who am I kidding? None of it matters anyway." She turned her back to him, walking away. "It's already noon, and I still have to make up all the guest rooms."

"Hey! I-I have an idea." He joined her side, a big smile on his face. "I'll finish your chores for you, so then you can do your guard duty, and then maybe you can take a few minutes to be my assistant?"

She looked at him with concern. "You sure you can get all this done?"

"Yeah, no problem! It's the kind of thing friends do, right?"

"Right.. Friends."

While working on her chores, Varian had run his large laundry basket into a pillar, struggling to lug the cart around. He was pulled away from his struggle for a moment as the Princess's voice was heard. "Uh, Varian?"

"Ah-- Hey, Princess."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm helping Cass with her work so she can pull guard duty!"

"But shouldn't you be setting up your exhibit..?"

"Oh, theoretically, but I am presenting second to last, so I figure that'll give me a few extra minutes to get ready. Plus I just have a few rooms left right there." He laughed before she spoke to him again.

"Hey, where's Calamity? Did she come to town with you?"

He waved her off as he made his way over. "Ah, she's okay.. I mean, it's just one day without me, right? I can hang out with her a little more when we get back to Old Corona."

Rapunzel sighed, picking up a few cloths that had fallen from the cart. "Look, Varian.. I know you really like Cass, but all of this work and.. leaving your best friend..?"

"Don't worry. Cass agreed to be my assistant during my presentation, so, ya know, I got everything under control."

"Varian.. Why didn't you ask Calamity to be your assistant?"

He stopped for a moment, remembering how she had asked him if he needed help. "I.. I just have a surprise for Cass.. That's all. But, um.. O-On to the next room!" He wandered down to the end of the hall.

"Oh, Varian, that is not a room, that's a-"

"Oh, that's a- oH!" He fell down the dark stairwell, Rapunzel reaching out for him despite being a few feet away.

"...Staircase..." She mumbled, looking down at him sadly from the top.

As he sent the last big pile of cloths down the laundry chute, Varian closed it up and leaned against it, exhausted as ever. He snapped out of it when Cass spoke up.

"Wiped out?"

"Who? Me? No, just fainted-- Uh, I mean, fin--.. I finished. Finished."

She looked at him in shock. "Finished? Wow.. Varian, I'm impressed."

He blushed, looking away for a moment. "Oh, it was no big deal.." He cleared his throat, sighing with relief. "Now, um, if you'll excuse me, I have a contest to win. Assistant?" He asked, pointing back at her as he walked away.

"Remember, you said it would only take a minute, I'm on duty!" She called back at him, suddenly looking back behind her as someone cried out in pain.

As one guard after another slipped on the still wet hallway floor, Cassandra was promoted to be the judge's security detail. Even with Rapunzel there to remind her of her promise to Varian, she volunteered for the work with eagerness.

Back in the palace square, Calamity hadn't been having any type of fun whatsoever. She knew Varian would be able to spend at least a little time with her through the expo, but ever since he told her about asking Cass to be his assistant, she hadn't seen a sign of him anywhere. She got nervous as the judge made his way out onto the stage, and she couldn't help but feel a bit of guilt when she spotted Cassandra on stage next to him. After all, it was his choice on who he would ask to be his assistant, but after spending 6 years of her life close to him, it hurt that she hadn't even been considered.

Before it all started, Varian ran into Cass on stage before she had to stand by the judge. "You ready? Because a certain alchemist could use his assistant!"

"Listen, Varian, I'm really sorry, but things have changed.. I can't help you anymore. I'm St. Croix's personal--"

She was interrupted by the judge, who was standing at the podium. "Hello? Security detail?" He motioned to the space behind him. "I have moved my person in this direction."

Varian looked back at Cass, putting on a fake smile. "Ha.. A personal security detail.. Must be a big deal.." He scratched his upper arm, looking to the floor. "Don't worry about me.. I am sure.. I can find another assistant...." He paused, taking a deep breath. "In the next five minutes..." He went behind the curtain, and Cass felt as guilty as ever. She hated seeing him this sad, but she had a job to do. She took a deep breath and made her way over to the other side of the stage, taking her place and folding her arms behind her back.

"Let the judgement begin!" The crowd roared but Calamity had seen the entire exchange from where she was standing near the front. She ran backstage to see him asking around, and it hurt even more now that he had forgotten about her.

"Varian.." Her voice was quiet as she put her hand gently on his shoulder like she had that morning. "I can be your assistant.."

He turned around, a small smile on his face as he wiped away the tears forming in his eyes. "Thanks Cal... I can always count on a friend like you.."

She pulled him in for a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso. "That's the kind of thing friends do..."

He hugged her just as tight, resting his head on her shoulder as he let a few cries make their way past his lips.

Varian peeked out between the curtains at the crowd, then to the judge and Cassandra. He took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "It's okay Varian... Now or never.."

He stepped out onstage, waving his hand dramatically as he spoke. "Behold! The power of alchemy!"

Calamity stepped through the curtains, nodding to Varian as she held on to the edge of one.

"I give you, the Elemental Remogrifier!" Varian announced his invention as she pulled back the curtains, to which the crowd, and even the judge, gasped. An applause and loud cheers could be heard from the audience.

He bowed, then motioning to Calamity. "Assistant?"

Carrying a large bag of sand in her arms, she made her way to the machine. She carefully poured it in, making sure every grain was put inside the entry point.

"Here we go.." Varian mumbled to Cal, smiling up at her. He turned a small wheel on the side of the machine before pushing a lever, allowing the machine to start up.

"The rotation causes friction, which heats the sand, while the counter-centrifugal force promotes particle compression!" Varian explained the machine's process as the noise got louder. "The end result?" He asked himself, shutting off the machine.

"Fifty pounds of sand turns into..." He reached into the barrel before pulling out a small, purple crystal. "This."

The crowd gasped at it, and Varian brought it down to stare at it. "I call this new element..." He held it up once again. "Cassandrium."

Cass gasped and Calamity felt her heart shatter. Through the pain, she smiled and clapped for him. This was too much, she had to get out of there.

Cassandra noticed her acting strange, and when she ran off stage, she realized what had been going on. From two weeks ago, back in Old Corona, how she always trailed behind him, was concerned for him, and now today with the grief in her eyes.. He meant something so much more to her than what a friend would.

Calamity liked him, but he couldn't see it.

The judge cleared his throat, smiling at the young alchemist as he looked away from the new element. "Despite the lack of flare in your experiment.. I'll consider yours for actually placing in the contest."

Varian looked confused. "Flare? But what does that have to do with sci-?"

"Next!" The judge shouted, dismissing him from the stage. However, he only moved to the side to watch the last contestant display their invention. As loud music roared and the curtains drew open, pink smoke filled the air around the stage. Varian flinched back a little as the presentation began.

"I give you... the Fantasphere!!!" She tugged back a cloth that covered a very shiny, lit up display. Pulling a lever, she gasped as the ball lifted up in the air, the two magnets supporting it. The crowd gasped and cheered at the sight.

Varian looked at it questioningly, stepping up next to the device. "But.. What does it do?"

"Uh-- The real question, kid, is, what doesn't it do? Now here, have some chocolate and shut up." She tossed a piece at him before walking away.

"It's luster is glorious!" St. Croix exclaimed, marveling at the would-be invention. "I see no need to continue this contest!" He gave her the first place ribbon while Varian stood to the side, a mournful expression in his eyes.

He sighed, walking offstage. Cass looked at him with pity, sighing as she followed him to a nearby fountain.

"You should have won.." She mumbled, sitting next to him.

"It doesn't matter.. The truth is, all I really wanted to do was impress you.. I thought if I showed you what I was capable of, you might see something in me.." He glanced at her before looking down to the stone ground. "Something.. special. I was just being dumb."

"But you did impress me. Varian, you're a great kid. You're smart, you're compassionate, you're unique.." She brought a kind hand up to hold his shoulder.

"Thanks, for saying that.."

"But, Varian.. Listen to me.. I'm very flattered for all that you did for me today. But I'm a little too old for you.. And besides.. You have someone here already who sees so much more in you." She turned him around to see Calamity sitting by herself at another fountain. "I think you should name an element after her.. Not me."

Varian took the Cassandrium from his apron, sighing as he attached it to a necklace chain. "Well.. I still wanted to give this to you." He handed it to her, offering her a kind smile. "Friends?"

She returned the smile, taking the necklace. "Friends." She stood up, pointing a finger at him. "You better name an element after her, or I swear.." She laughed, standing him up from the fountain. "Now go cheer her up, she needs her best friend right now."

As Cass walked away, Varian took a deep breath before making her way over to Calamity. He sat down next to her, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey Cal.. I'm sorry for.. how I acted today.."

"It's okay.. You did it for Cassandra. I get it." She turned away, picking at the fabric lining the end of her sleeve cuffs.

"Cal.. I get now that my crush was stupid.. I wasted a day working for her when I could have had fun with my best friend.. I'm really sorry, and I understand if you can't forgive me for this."

She looked back up at him, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm there to help my friend after he ignores me all day.. And he names an element after a girl he's known for two weeks rather than his best friend of six years.." He couldn't look away from her, feeling the guilt build and build inside him.

"Cal, I-"

"But.." she sighed, showing him a weak smile. "I can always forgive my best friend.." She sniffled, scooting closer to him to hug him.

He hugged her back, sighing happily as he closed his eyes. "Thanks, Cal.. I can always count on you.."

Calamity leaned back after a short silence, smiling wide at him. "Soooo.. Cassandrium, huh?" She teased him, leaning forward and batting her eyelashes.

"Hah.. Yeah, I actually.. got the idea from that rock cluster we saw the other day."

"Rock cluster?" Rapunzel had overheard the two, tilting her head as she and Cassandra made their way back over.

"Yeah.. Big, black rocks outside of our village."

The group of four made their way up a small hill on the outskirts of Old Corona as the sun set in the orange sky. "It was amazing.. They just kind of sprouted up a couple weeks ago." He sighed, staring at the group of black, spiky rocks that towered over them. "I have never seen anything like it."

When they got close enough, Rapunzel's hair began to glow, and the black rocks responded by glowing a bright blue. Varian dared to step up to the rocks, looking at them with concerned wonder in his eyes. "Fascinating.. The rocks are demonstrating an actual physical response." He thought for a moment before pointing to Rapunzel. "To you."

Rapunzel and Cass glanced at each other before stepping closer to the two Old Coronians in front of her. "Shh.. Varian, Calamity.. I need you to promise to keep this between you and me, okay? And Cassandra.."

"Wh-Why?"

"Because my dad has forbidden me from talking about these black rocks to anyone. We collectively are going to figure it out." She put her arms around their shoulders, smiling nonchalantly. "But I need to know that I can trust you.."

Varian and Calamity had shared a glance before smiling back at the Princess. "You can count on us.."

A/N: Wow, another episode-based chapter and it only took 3,575 words! True, this one didn't contain the disaster caused by Shorty and the judge's snooty curiosity, but I figured that the let down from Cass and the sadness from Calamity was enough angst for one alchemy boy. I tried my best to still include the mystery of the black rocks so that we can still see the main plot line of the show come through.


	5. You Need a Break

The week after the science exposition had been strange. Rapunzel and Cassandra hadn't checked in on Calamity and Varian about the rocks, though it was okay for now. Varian had spent a long while each day observing the rocks, Cal not too far away either in his lab, his home or right beside him at the rocks.

"You know, these rocks very closely resemble obsidian.. but it's like it had a mutation of some kind to make it react to the Princess that way.." He examined his notes while speaking to his friend, who had been laying on the grass beside him.

"Maybe.. Have you ever considered a spell or a curse of some kind?" She asked, looking at him with a smile.

"Cal, you know I look more to the science than magic.. It's just stories.."

"Uh huh.. Then how do you explain Rapunzel's hair glowing and the rocks glowing when they got close to each other?" She rolled to lay on her stomach, moving closer to him as he lowered his book.

"It could be.. but I don't want to assume it is right away, I want to try and find a logical, scientific explanation for this."

"Yep, that's the Varian way..! Ignore any signs of magic, even if it's just a story, and go on ranting and raving about your alchemy." She sat up in the grass, looking at him. "Hey, you've been here every day working your butt off.. Why don't you come back to the lab with me for a break?"

Varian sighed, closing his book reluctantly. "Fine.. Only because I've already been out here since the morning." He smiled up at her, getting up with her and heading back to his lab.

"Caaaaaal, I don't want to spend my break painting.." Varian whined, sitting at her art table next to her.

"Why not? Because you think it's booooring?" She leaned over to him, a small smirk tugging at her lips.

"No.. Maybe it's just because.. I'm not that good at painting.." Varian smiled a little, looking down at the blank canvas in front of him and fiddling with a couple of brushes on the table.

"I bet you're good at painting.. Hey, why don't I teach you?" She nudged him, smiling at him sweetly.

"You would really bear with me just to teach me how to paint?"

"Of course I would! I mean, you deal with me all day while you're experimenting with your alchemy. It's only fair." She shrugged, laughing a little before picking up one of her brushes and a palate. "Now, what do you want to paint?"

"Why not something simple? Like a sunset?" He asked, to which she smiled wide, her eyes full of excitement.

"Yeah! Well, what kind of sunset? Orange, oh, maybe pink and purple with some clouds-?"

"There you go with your artist talk, again.. You seem happy about the second one, so why not that?"

She was already putting the paints down as he spoke, smiling weakly. "How could you tell? Anyways, just follow my lead.. We can share the paints, and you just paint like I do."

The two had painted for a little while before Varian sighed, leaning back in his seat in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Calamity asked, looking over at him and then his painting. "Var, it looks great."

"It really doesn't.. I can't even hold my brush steady to make the straight lines." He gestured at his painting, and the wavy lines were clearly visible.

"Maybe you just need a little help.." She scooted closer to him, holding his hand without a second thought and guiding his brush across the canvas, painting over the wavy lines to make straighter ones. "See? All better, right?"

Varian fell silent as she pulled her hand away, staring at the hand she had touched to help him. "Th-Thanks.." He mumbled, smiling weakly. As his hand went back to the canvas again, he was unable to actually touch the brush to the canvas because of his now shakier hand. "Um.."

"Um? What?"

"I.. I need your help again with painting.." He smiled shyly, looking back at her with a hint of blush in his cheeks.

She laughed a little, scooting closer to him. "Alright, just take a deep breath and focus."

He took a deep breath, and she took his hand, but paused when he didn't exhale. She looked at him, a little concerned. "Varian.. Breathe."

With that, he let out his deep breath followed by a nervous laugh. He smiled at her before she helped him paint again.

A little while had passed before the painting was finally finished. By now, there was an actual sunset outside, and Calamity had let go of his hand again.

"There, all done! See? It looks beautiful, doesn't it?"

Varian couldn't help but look at her instead of the painting. "Yeah.. She is.." He paused as their eyes met. "I-I mean, it.. IT is beautiful!"

Though it made her blush, she let him go easy and pretended like she didn't hear it. Calamity smiled wide before slowly standing from her seat. "Well.. We skipped lunch.. We better go get some dinner, right?" She brushed off her skirt, looking at the ground to avoid his gaze.

"Y-Yeah.." He paused for a moment, thinking as she started heading up the stairs. "Hey, Cal?" He asked, looking up at her with eyes that had a touch of desperateness in them.

She stopped, looking back at him innocently. "Yes?"

She didn't look the same as she did yesterday. She was stunning, and her amber eyes glowed brilliantly in the late afternoon light.

"Would you.." He blinked, smiling up at her. "Would you be interested in joining me at the Day of Hearts Festival in Corona..?"

There it is. That kind smile she always flashed at him, but now it meant something more. "Sure.. I would love to.. Now come on, let's go up to eat." He smiled, getting up from his seat and rushing out of the lab with her.


	6. A Day of Hearts for Two

The weekend had finally arrived, and both Calamity and Varian had woken up early on Saturday morning to travel into Corona for the Day of Hearts Festival.

"Come on, Varian, wake up! It's the Day of Hearts, we gotta get an early start if we wanna make the most of our day in the big city!" She stood over him, shaking his shoulders to get him out of bed.

The sleepy boy reluctantly sat up, rubbing his eyes before looking out the window. He stared at her with a blank expression. "You do know it's still dark outside, right?" He asked, slowly getting out of his bed.

"Yeah.." She responded quietly, fixing back her hair by tying a small ribbon despite her bangs still falling in front of her face. "But, you know it's a two hour trip to Corona, so.. We'll make it there by the time the sun rises!"

Varian slowly got ready, while Cal headed over to the doorway of their room. "I'll go make us breakfast, anything you want?"

"Just some toast.. I'm not that hungry.." He smiled at her sweetly as she nodded, heading out to the kitchen.

She quietly made breakfast, making his toast along with some fried ham and eggs in case he wanted something else. By the time he came downstairs and smelled the food, he pulled down two plates and lazily rested his chin on her shoulder. "Okay, I want more than toast.. Please."

She laughed a little, dishing up both of their plates. "No problem, I figured.. You're always more hungry than you expect yourself to be, especially since you don't eat too much while you work." She turned around as he stood up, handing him his plate.

"Thanks.. You always know how to take care of me, Cal.."

Though the two had always close, she took it as a surprise when he kissed her cheek before taking his plate to the table. Of course, he thought nothing of it, tiredly eating his food while leaving her stunned at the stove.

"Varian?" She asked, holding her plate with one hand as she held her cheek with the other.

"Yeah?" He asked, looking up at her innocently.

"Um... N-Nothing.. Sorry." She smiled sweetly as she sat next to him at the table like she normally had done.

After they had finished their breakfast and did the dishes, they were ready to make their way to Corona. While walking on the dirt road that lead out of the village, Varian held her hand to make sure she wouldn't fall or trip on any rocks or dips.

As they got closer and closer to the gate of Corona, Varian nudged his sleepy friend a little. "Hey, look up at the sky.." He whispered, smiling sweetly. "It's just like you said.."

She looked up after rubbing her eyes, noticing the sun starting to light up the sky as it rose for the day ahead of it. She stopped in her tracks as she stared in awe at the slightly overcast sky covered in brilliant oranges and pinks. "Wow.." This was all she could express before realizing the day that lay ahead of them. She jumped in place a little excitedly, pulling his hand as she ran to the kingdom. "Come on! We've gotta go, no time to waste!"

He laughed, following her as they ran into the town square, seeing everything being decorated with hearts and ribbons in red, pink and white. Varian found himself watching Calamity more than looking around at their surroundings like she had been doing, finding a small fluttering feeling in his chest as he saw her eyes filled with wonder and her wide smile.

"Huh.. Looks like nothing is really open yet.." She hummed, which snapped him out of his trance.

"Wha?" He stared at her blankly for a second before shaking his head. "Uh.. Yeah, we should probably find something else to do until the initiation ceremony begins. You know, the whole speech thing about love and how Corona came to be what it is today.." He rambled for a moment before Cal interrupted him.

"Yeahhh.. Or we could go share a heart bagel." She smiled wide, pointing to an open bakery as the baker was setting fresh pastries in the window.

He shrugged, smiling as he pulled out a few coins. "Sure!" He instinctively took her hand again, heading over to the shop with her before heading inside. "Excuse me, we'd like to-"

"Aww, look at the cute young couple!" The baker set down another fresh tray of bagels in the window as they walked in.

Calamity shook her head and Varian waved his arms around as they both laughed nervously. "No, no," Varian spoke up, a weak smile on his lips. "We're just friends-"

"Oh, sure, it'll start that way, but you'll see each other change throughout the day. Now, what can I get you two?"

They stared in awe for a second before Varian pointed at the heart bagels in the window. "One heart bagel please." He said, trading him 3 gold coins for it.

They both thanked him before heading outside of the shop, and as they stepped outside, Varian split the bagel and handed one half to Cal. "Here you go."

She smiled, taking it and holding his hand for a second, taking the chance to lean up and peck his cheek. "Thanks!" She smiled after seeing him start to behave like how he left her that morning. She innocently ate her half, looking at him as he stopped in his tracks. "What's wrong?"

"You.." He mumbled, letting go of her hand and holding his cheek.

"I?" She asked, laughing a little.

"Um.. Never mind.." He laughed nervously before hearing the announcement from the castle. "C'mon, it's starting! Time to go!" He took her hand and rushed to the town square again.

As they made their way back over, they could hear the story of how Corona came to be through love and war. Though the story was going on, Varian zoned out as he stared at Calamity while she listened. He smiled a little as she glanced at him, giving him a wide smile. He returned a sweet smile to her before she looked back, applauding with the rest of the crowd. He joined, a little delayed since he was distracted.

"Aww, look..!" Cal whisper-shouted at him, hugging his arm. "The King and Queen are signing the book..!"

He laughed a little at her reaction, pulling his arm away from her only to wrap it around her. "Yeah, that's sweet, isn't it?"

After they had signed, an announcer had officially initiated the celebration. Calamity looked up at Varian, a small smile on her face as the crowd dispersed. "So, what should we do first?"

"We should probably look around.. Anything interesting we see we can do."

"Okay, sounds nice!" She glanced around, seeing interesting things in both directions. "But.. You choose where to go."

He laughed, shaking his head as he held her hand, guiding her to the left of where they were standing. "This way."

After a while of wandering and looking through different booths, they both came across a "test your strength" bell with a hammer laying next to it. Calamity, ignoring the challenge, was drawn to the big teddy bears holding hearts on the shelves behind the vendor. She pointed at one, smiling wide. "Var, look! Aren't they adorable?"

Varian looked at the challenge, then back at the bears, sighing a little with a smile. "Alright.. I'll win you one."

She smiled wide and hugged him tightly, repeating, "Thank you!" over and over.

He leaned back from her, laughing a bit. "I haven't gotten it yet! I've never really been great at these, you know." He paid the man the fee, ignoring the signs near the bell saying what the challenge was really for. The signs read that the harder you hit, the more you love the person you're playing for. The vendor watched in amusement as Varian picked up the hammer, swinging it up and bringing it down to hit the ringer. As it shot up and hit the bell, the vendor looked at him with a little shock.

"You're the first one today to actually win. He must really love you, young lady!" he commented, handing Calamity the bear.

"Wait.. Love?" It was at this point Varian had looked up to see the rule of the game. He became a little flustered, but didn't say anything more because he couldn't exactly deny it. Is that what all of his nervousness around her was? "I mean.. It was bound to happen when you're really close as friends.." he thought to himself.

As Calamity and the vendor were looking at him to say something else, Varian heard an announcement from across the way. He turned, seeing the beginning of the reenactment play. "H-Hey! Let's go get some ice cream and we can watch they play together-!" He pulled her away from the challenge stand, leaving the vendor to laugh at the two.

After getting ice cream for both of them, they headed over to a small grass field in front of a makeshift stage. Quite a few couples had been sitting together, though spaced out, and both Calamity and Varian had found a space to sit together that was a comfortable enough distance away from them.

While eating their ice creams and waiting for the play to start, they spoke quietly with each other. Cal sat with the bear in her arms, eating her ice cream carefully so she wouldn't drip anything on it. "Hey Varian?" she asked, smiling up at him shyly.

"Yeah?" He looked at her with those big blue eyes that always caught her attention.

"Thanks for hanging out with me today.. Inviting me to the Festival with you.."

He smiled, wrapping his arm around her as he scooted closer. "No worries.. I never want to miss a chance to hang out with my best friend.."

She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. Before she could ask a question, their attention was brought to the stage as the play started. It lasted a while, going from the late afternoon to dusk, where the sun was setting. 

Finally, she could ask her question. "Hey Varian..?" she mumbled, looking out at the sunset to avoid his gaze.

"Yeah?" He hummed, looking down at her and her distanced stare.

"I.." She sighed, a little nervous as she fidgeted with the heart the teddy bear was holding. "Before the expo.. Why did you ask Cassandra for help instead of me.. when I was ready to help you out the moment we got there?"

He hesitated a moment, gently rubbing her arm as he looked back at the setting sun. "Being honest.. I wanted to impress her.. I liked her.."

"Liked..?"

"Liked.. She told me it could never work, and.." He glanced down to her, smiling weakly. "I should focus more on you then a girl I don't have a chance with.."

With that last sentence, she looked up at him to realize their faces were really close. Their eyes widened as they nervously laughed, leaning back a little as their cheeks were lightly dusted with color.

"Well.. All I can do after hearing that is.." She leaned up and quickly kissed his cheek while he was looking away. She looked away quickly as he turned his gaze to her, a little shocked.

"You-"

"I?" She asked, laughing a little.

He laughed, feeling his face redden a bit before covering his eyes. "You.. What kind of kiss was that for?"

"For the best friend in the world.. Someone who's always there for me.."

He smiled softly, looking back at her, his blue eyes locking with her bright amber eyes. "Best friend in the world.." With that, he leaned down and kissed her cheek again, leaning back with a big smile on his lips.

The rest of the night went on even better than the day, their awkwardness fading away as their refusal of liking each other turned into hidden, quiet crushes.


	7. The Memories in the Flames

A couple years after her father's death, Calamity had grown numb to the topic at just 11 years old. Quirin had taken her in and Varian spent as much time with her every day as he could, even if they were down in his lab.

One night, it was very late and the two had stayed up. Varian was working under the light of a few candles lit around his lab, and Calamity was sat at her art table while staring at the flame on one of the many candles.

A moment of silence rang through the room as Varian paused to check on her, walking away from his alchemy table to stand by her side.

"Calamity..?" He asked quietly, rubbing her back. "You've been quiet.. What's wrong?"

She was silent for a moment before speaking just barely above a whisper. "Nothing.." Her gaze didn't break from the flickering flame as he sat next to her.

"Are you sure? Because you never hang out down here with me and stay silent after the first hour. What's wrong?"

"What does it feel like to burn..?" She asked, reaching out her right hand to the candle in front of her.

Varian stared at her in confusion for a moment before watching her hand, his eyes widening. He gasped, pulling her hand away and pulling her to stand in the middle of the room as he held her shoulders. "Calamity, don't do that! Don't you know how important you are!?"

Her numb eyes turned to him as he spoke, and he could see the instant change in her eyes as they went from sadness to anger. "I'm not important, Varian! If I was, my dad would still be alive, he'd be here to take care of me! He wouldn't have wanted to leave me!!!" She pushed him back from holding her shoulders, only hard enough to make him stumble back a couple of steps. She sunk down to the ground, holding her head in her hands as sobs shook her body.

He slowly made his way back to her, sitting on the floor in front of her and carefully pulling her hands away from her face. "I don't know why your dad left you.. But that doesn't mean you're not important.. You've always been important to me, and you always will be.." He whispered, pulling her close into a hug.

All she could do was cry as she leaned into his touch, gripping at his sleeves as her tears stained the fabric.

He leaned back a little, lifting up her head. "Hey.. Let's put out all these candles.. Without burning ourselves." He kissed her forehead, standing them up slowly. "Then we can go to bed for the night.."

She looked at him, smiling weakly as she nodded her head. "Sounds fine to me.."

He smiled and began to take care of the candles while she took out the few by the entrance to the lab. "Ready?" She asked, watching him walk over to her in the moonlight.

"Ready as I'll ever be.." He smiled wide, taking her hand to lead her through the dark back to their house. As they made their way up the porch, Calamity had tripped over the last step, to which Varian responded quickly to catch her in his arms. She looked up at him as he helped her stand back up.

"Thank you.." She mumbled, smiling weakly. They both went inside and quietly made their way upstairs to their shared room. He helped her into her bed, making sure she was okay before going to his.

As he looked back at her, he saw her sitting up. "Cal..? What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry.." she mumbled, looking at him shyly. "Can I come lay with you?"

He hesitated a moment, but knew it would comfort her after what happened in the lab. "Sure.." He hummed, scooting over to make room for her. She crawled in, resting her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you.." She whispered before steadily drifting off to sleep.

"Anything for my best friend.." He whispered back, falling asleep soon after her.

A/N: Hey! Just to clear a couple of things up, I thought I would mention that this chapter was a past event. Calamity was about 11 at this time and Varian was about 12. Since they had grown up together because of her abusive dad, the two had learned to be comfortable with each other, meaning platonic kisses and cuddles are very common. Feel free to ask any questions if you're confused about anything!


	8. A Field of Wishes

The week passing the Day of Hearts Festival was about the same as any other week for both Calamity and Varian. Every day, he would study the rocks, now moving to different locations than the cluster at the edge of the village. He began to grow concerned as they spread through the village, and they all seemed to be leading straight for the capital of the kingdom. Calamity had always spent her days by his side unless he was out for research, during which time she would be in his lab or her room working on her art to distract herself.

Unknown to her, one day while wandering a path that wound through his village, Varian came across a cluster that seemed to head a little further into the forest that lined the road. He marked the location on the map in his journal before taking a deep breath. He pet Ruddiger's head as he rested on his shoulder as a way to comfort them both.

Though there wasn't any immediate danger, he was surprised to find a few more rocks just outside of a large clearing in the woods. When he entered the clearing, he smiled wide as he saw the grass filled with nothing but dandelions. A few other flowers were present along the edges, but he knew Calamity wouldn't pay any attention to them after seeing a field full of her favorite flower. He quickly marked a dandelion next to the rocks he had marked before, and ran back out to the road to get home as soon as possible.

Back at home, Calamity had been setting the table for lunch while Quirin fixed the food in the kitchen. Both were shocked when they say Varian run inside the front door, but calmed down as they saw the big smile on his face.

"Dad! Can Calamity and I eat our lunch outside today?" He asked, grabbing a basket for their food from the pantry.

Amused from his excited tone, he couldn't refuse. "I suppose, but be home by sundown and no later."

Varian nodded, helping pack the food. He turned back to a confused Calamity. "Ready? I've got a surprise for you."

She returned his smile, laughing a little before nodding. "Sure, but.. Where are we going?"

"You'll see, you'll love it!" He took her hand, the basket in his free hand as he rushed back out the front door. Cal closed it behind them, trying her best to keep up with her best friend.

"Hey! How come we're all the way out here?" She asked, finally catching up to him as he slowed down to a walk.

He turned back to her, a big grin on his face. "I was out researching the movement of the rocks and I found this little place in the forest you'll really like. Trust me." He opened his journal, checking the location of the flower he marked before looking up to see the rock cluster he marked by it. "Do you trust me?" He asked, standing at the edge of the road. He could tell she was nervous, but held his hand out for her. "I won't let you get lost or hurt.. It's safe as long as I'm here."

She smiled weakly at his words, reaching out and taking his hand. As soon as they connected, he pulled her into the forest, leading her to the clearing. When they got there, her eyes widened and she gasped, covering her mouth. "Oh my gosh! How are there so many dandelions here?" She asked, looking between the field and Varian.

"I'm not sure, but I just knew I had to take you here.." He spoke shyly now, unable to move his eyes from her. "Cal, do you think this could be our hangout spot? Y'know, when we're not working late in the lab or helping dad around the house or garden?"

She looked back at him, nearly bursting with happiness. That glimmer in her amber eyes as the sunlight sparkled in them? It made Varian feel amazed at his friend. So much so that he may have now thought of her as more than a friend. Her words finally snapped him out of it, but he only laughed at her excitement.

"Are you kidding!? I love this place so much!" She ran out and spun around a little, her arms stretched out. She motioned for him to follow before she laid down among all of the dandelions, looking up at the sky for a brief moment before closing her eyes. She let the warmth from the spring air envelop her as a light breeze drifted a few stray hairs around her face. As Varian sat beside her, she looked up at him.

"Ready to eat?" He asked, smiling contently as he looked down at her. She sat up, nodding with a big smile as he began unpacking their lunches. They ate together, unable to stop talking about their respective days. By the time they had headed home that night, one thing was certain:

They had both developed feelings for each other that made them see the other as more than a friend.


	9. Surrounded By Lies

Three days had passed and strong concern started spreading throughout Old Corona. Rock clusters were popping up closer together at spontaneous times, even growing through people's homes. As the many villagers gathered where most of the rocks had been sprouting, and Quirin was trying his best to settle them.

"Take ease, friends. Our situation may seem dire, but we mustn't lose hope."

Varian's voice broke the through the commotion of the villagers. "I've been studying these rocks, and I think I've discovered a vulnerability in their alchemical makeup.." He looked at a cluster of rocks in the center of the group, even as his father approached him.

"Son, I thought I told you to leave those rocks alone."

"Yeah, I know, I know, I know, but something has to be done and I think I may be onto a solution!"

"Varian, something is being done. In fact, I plan to travel to see the King this afternoon about this very matter."

"Oh-." Varian glanced at the rocks before looking up at him. "Well, um, then can, can Cal and I come with you?" He looked up at him with soft eyes, smiling as his father sighed.

"Very well. You both can travel with me."

Shocked by the acceptance, Varian smiled wide. "Really? Yes! Yes! Road trip! Varian, Cal and Dad going to see the Kiiiing~!" He did his little happy dance, laughing a little before an idea popped into his head. "I will pack ham sandwiches-!" He ran off, heading to their house, only stopping when his father called out to him.

"In the meantime, stay away from those rocks!"

"Uh.. Okay, but, um..." He paused, looking at larger clusters of rocks around his village. "That's getting harder to do by the minute." After he spoke, a new, smaller cluster grew out of the ground right next to Varian, causing him to flinch back a little.

Varian ran back to the house, calling for Calamity to come downstairs.

"Cal! Hey, we're going on a road trip with dad to the big city! Do you want me to pack you a sandwich for the trip?" He already began gathering the bread, looking back at her.

"Varian, really? We're going out of town!?" She gasped, running down the stairs and running into the kitchen.

"Yeah! We're going to go tell the King about the black rocks!"

She looked at him a little concerned, tilting her head. "Varian.. Weren't we supposed to keep it a secret? Y'know, like the Princess said-?"

"I mean- I did, but it's kind of hard to keep it a secret when there's one right in the middle of our lab..!" He set down the bread, going over to her and holding her shoulders. "We can finally get some help and we'll be able to get rid of the rocks, I just know we can!"

She sighed, smiling weakly at him. "Okay.. I trust you.." She smiled and made her way over to the counter. "I'll help you make the food.."

It took them two hours to get from their village to the capital, and even longer since they had to wait in line. Varian and Calamity followed his dad as the line moved forward.

"Okay, Dad, what's our strategy? I mean I tried to get a sample of the rocks to show the King, but they just won't cut--"

"Son." Quirin interrupted him as the usher waved at them to head inside. "Wait here while I speak to the King."

He looked at him a little worried, glancing back to Calamity. "Dad, I think we should go in there so I can help explain the scientific--"

"Varian. Children have no place in court."

He frowned. "But we're not... children.."

Calamity peeking in through the entry way to the throne room, noticing two open doors to the right of the throne. "Varian.. We can listen from over there, follow me.." She whispered, taking his hand and leading him away quickly.

"...It would appear this year's harvest has proven quite bountiful. So much so, that I humbly request more land to accommodate such bounty!"

Listening from the doorway, Calamity and Varian stared wide eyed at the conversation. "What..?" Varian mumbled as his father bowed.

The servant glanced at a scroll of paper, whispering something to the King that they couldn't quite hear.

"Quirin, I am pleased to hear how well Old Corona is faring," the King stood, "and even more pleased to grant your request.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Quirin smiled and stood, heading over to the door where Calamity and Varian had been peeking through.

"Quick, we gotta move-" Cal said, pulling Varian back into the hallway.

"Cal, what are we gonna do-?" He asked before turning around as his dad left the throne room. "Dad! None of that was true! Wha-- Old Corona's being destroyed! You--"

"Old Corona will endure. You'll have to trust that I can handle this." He pushed his way past his son, but Varian stopped him from moving further.

"How? How can I trust anything when my own father just lied to the King's face!?"

He leaned back as Quirin scolded him. "That is enough, Varian."

Varian stared at him, his eyes wide with fear. "Yes, sir.." He spoke meekly as he stepped out of the way for his father. He turned back to Calamity, who pulled him into a tight hug as soon as his dad was far away enough. "It'll be okay, Varian.. We can.. We can tell the Princess, I-I.." She stepped back, heading to the doors. "I can get her-"

As she made it half way, the door to the throne room opened again and Rapunzel emerged from it.

"Varian, Calamity? Is everything okay?" They made their way back over to him while Raps spoke.

He stepped forward, moving away from even Cal's touch. "No! No, it's not.. Rapunzel, we came to see your dad about the rocks in Old Corona.."

"Yeah, but your dad just said--"

"My dad lied.. Things have gotten worse." He glanced back at Calamity before staring at the ground.

"How much worse..?"

Varian turned his head, closing his eyes as he saw multiple images of the state of his village. He covered his eyes and soon breathing a little heavily. He brushed his fingers through his hair, staring wide-eyed at the floor. "A-A lot.. Worse.." He muttered through uneven breaths. Calamity realized he had began panicking, and rushed in front of him, having him look at her.

"Hey, Varian-. I'm here, just look at me, okay? Everything will be alright, you just need to breathe and calm down.." She guided him through breathing like he had with her many times before, smiling at him as he calmed down.

"Varian.. Calamity.." Rapunzel spoke up quietly as she watched the two, and she had a feeling they had calmed each other like this many times before. "Don't worry.. I haven't forgotten our agreement. We're gonna figure out the mystery behind these rocks.. Together.. Just give me until my father returns, please.. Everything is going to be okay." She smiled at the two, stooping a little to their eye level. "I promise." She spoke with confidence, allowing Varian to feel a little more secure about the situation. Both he and Cal smiled up at the Princess, thankful for her reassurance.


	10. Experiments Can Be... Explosive

After returning back to Old Corona, Varian and Calamity went inside their shared lab. Varian watched a small crowd gather around his dad from the window overlooking the bridge, listening closely to what he was saying.

"I have made the good King aware of our problem, and we have his blessings!" The crowd of villagers broke out into a cheer, gaining back some hope.

Varian slammed his fist down on the windowsill, causing Calamity to turn her head. "Varian..?" She mumbled, watching him go over to the large cluster of rocks in the now dark lab.

He sighed, looking down at Ruddiger with a faint smile as he chittered and circled around his feet. He picked him up, looking into his eyes. "Running away isn't going to fix the problem.. These rocks must be stopped." He set his pet raccoon down on one of the rocks, sighing once again. He pushed up his sleeves, heading over to his desk.

"Okay, Ruddiger, Cal.. What do we know about them? They're unbreakable, they're somehow connected to the Princess, and.." He leaned over his desk, grabbing a large piece of paper before falling over.

Cal rushed over, helping him back up. "And worse yet.." He spread the paper across the table. "They are growing at an exponential rate.." He trailed his finger across the map he had been marking. "Within a matter of months, they will have reached the castle." He glanced up at Calamity, pausing for a moment to look into her worried eyes.

He took a deep breath, and headed back over to the rock cluster. "Now.. Physical force has no effect on these rocks, but," He brought Ruddiger up and wrapped him around his shoulders. "They have yet to reckon with the awesome power of alchemy!" He went over to the larger table in the lab, unveiling a set of beakers and gives connected together.

"Um.. Varian, don't you think there's a better way..?" Cal stepped over, joining him as he heated up the first beaker.

"We're not going to find a way to stop them unless we test them, right?" He asked, looking over at her while the process ran. "I mean, you think I, Varian, could mess this up?" He put his hand to his chest, laughing a little before collecting the new serum in a beaker.

Cal stared at him with a flat expression. "Yes.. Yes, I do.. Var, at least put your goggles on..!" She sighed, heading over to the rocks with him.

"Fine.. Don't worry.." He took a dropper, filling it with the solution before putting a few drops of the purple liquid on the black rock.

As it made contact, it fizzed and bubbled before bursting into flames. "Whoa! Oh, uhhh!" Cal had rushed up, grabbing the tarp he took off of his table. "You've got to choke out the fire-!" She whisper-shouted, not wanting to alert his father upstairs.

"Varian! Son, are you okay in there?" Too late, his dad already called down to the lab.

"Yes, Dad! Yes, yes! I just dropped a book!" He hugged the tarp to the rock, speaking in a rushed tone. Suddenly, an explosion came from under the fabric, blowing Varian's hair and goggles back. "One of my, one of my big boo-books.." He squinted over, looking through the light smoke in the room. "Cal.. You okay back there?" He asked, turning around to see she had been pushed back from the explosion.

She groaned a little, sitting up against the leg of the table. "I-I'm fine.. Didn't hit my head or anything, just fell back.. I guess I was too close, but you had the rock to hold on to.."

He sighed, kneeling down next to her. "I'm sorry.. I should have warned you.."

"No, no.. It's okay.." She laughed a little, getting up with his help.

"Okay, but you've got to tell me if you start to feel pain or anything.. Got it?" With a nod from Cal, he sighed, smiling sweetly at her for a moment. "Alright, let's get back to work."


	11. Amber

"Var, you need a break.. Come with me, we can get a snack together.." She stood up from her stool, placing her hand on his upper arm.

He pushed her away as he focused on getting an exact amount of a chemical. "No, Cal, you go ahead.. I gotta keep working."

She sighed, lowering her head and walking to the lab door. "Okay.. I'll bring you back something.."

When the door shut with a heavy slam, Varian glanced back with a hint of sadness in his eyes. He didn't mean to push her away, but he had work to do. Work that, if he found a solution, would help their lives tremendously.

He turned back to his raccoon who sat on the table in front of him. He leaned down to be at eye level with him, lightly pounding his fist on the table. "Never give up, Ruddiger.." He gathered a couple of chemicals, mixing them as he spoke. "So, our last formula didn't deliver quite the reaction we'd hoped.." He mixed them together, watching the liquid start to glow. After a few chitters from his pet, he shrugged. "So, what?" He moved back in front of the rocks, getting ready to pour the liquid over it. "The important thing is we got a reaction.." His voice drifted off as he concentrated, not noticing the door opening behind him.

"Son." Varian tensed up as he heard his father's voice. "I just wanted to-"

"Oh, oh!" When quickly turning around, Varian took his eyes off of the rocks, pouring the liquid all over one of them.

"Varian, I told you to stay away from those rocks!"

"Um, yeah, okay.. I-I know what you said, but..!"

"Then there should be no misunderstanding!" Quirin lead him away from the rocks, his voice raising. "Now listen to me. You-"

"No!" Varian suddenly shoved him away, looking at him with a bit of anger in his eyes. "No, you listen to me, Dad. Our village is dying! You think running away from the problem is gonna fix it? No, these rocks aren't going away!"

"I know, Varian, but there is more to them than you can possibly imagine."

Through their argument, they couldn't hear the bubbling of the chemical reacting with the rocks.

"Then why won't you tell me? Dad! I just, I deserve to know.." His voice weakened a little as he watched him walk away.

"I'm sorry son.. You're not ready.." He turned, seeing the reaction spreading quickly. "Varian, watch out!!!" He shoved him out of the way, causing Varian to roll across the lab floor.

When Varian got up, he saw his father stuck in what looked like amber. "Oh! Dad! Dad!!!" He rushed over, panic rushing over him. "Oh! Hold on, Dad. Hold on. I'll-- I'll get you out!"

With his free arm, Quirin prevented him from coming any further. "No! Stay back.."

Varian gasped, on the brink of hyperventilating as he stepped back. "I'm gonna go get help!"

"No, son, don't!"

He ignored him, rushing to his room to get his winter clothes. He dressed quickly, rushing into the kitchen for a lantern and bumping into Calamity.

"Varian..? Why are you..?" She looked at him confused, noticing he was avoiding eye contact with her. "Varian, look at me.. What's wrong-? Did something-?"

"Listen to me, Cal, don't go into my lab. Okay?" He suddenly grabbed her shoulders, scaring her a little as she noticed the panicked look in his eyes.

"O-Okay.." She mumbled, stepping back from him. He moved around her, grabbing a lantern, from one of the cubbards.

"I'll be back with help.. I promise.." For a moment, he stopped in front of her, cupping her cheek as he looked into her eyes. "I've got to go.. Take care of Ruddiger for me-!"

He rushed out the door, leaving Cal silent. The last time she saw Ruddiger was.. In the lab..

After he had been away for a few minutes, she got up enough courage to step inside the lab again. Slowly creaking open the door, she kept her eyes to the floor. "Ruddiger..? Come here, boy.." She said quietly, yet loud enough so it echoed through the silent room. Opening the door a little further, she finally brought her eyes up. She gasped, covering her mouth.

There was Quirin, encased. She looked up at his hand, noticing he had attempted to save a letter, only failing as it had been encased as well.

She dropped to her knees, a small sob leaving her as Ruddiger came running over to her. She picked him up, hugging him close to her as she curled up in an attempt to shield her eyes from seeing the sight again.

All she could do was wait. She was alone.


	12. You Promised

The travel through the snow was tough, but Varian had made it to the castle within a matter of only a couple hours. He knew it was risky, but he needed to see the Princess immediately, and he busted through the front doors and past the guards. The warmth of the palace greeted his freezing skin, but he had other important things to handle.

"Princess Rapunzel!!!" He bursted into the throneroom, running over to her.

"Sorry, Princess, he ran right past--" As Varian got closer, the captain of the guard grabbed his shoulders. He struggled to get out of his grasp, only succeeding as she told them it was alright.

"Rapunzel..!" He panted for breath, "My dad's in danger! You, you're the only one who can help. Please! You have to come to Old Corona with me! Now."

Rapunzel shared a worried look with the guards and Cassandra who all stood behind Varian, looking back to him with guilt. She lead him away to the hallway just outside of the throneroom where they had been just the day before. "Varian, what's wrong?"

"Please. Please, the rocks." He clasped his hands together, begging her. "They're, they're encasing my dad."

"Encasing? Wha.. What are you saying?"

"Come, come see for yourself-!" He turned, running down the hall. "You can help! I, I know you can! You have a connection to these rocks."

"Varian, it's a state of emergency here. I'm sorry, I.. I-I can't help you..!" He froze, turning back to look at her in disbelief. "Not right now.."

"No! No no no no, listen to me. My dad doesn't have much time. You are the only one who can help. Rapunzel, please!"

"Your Majesty, please.." Nigel, her assistant, came out into the hall. "Whatever the boy's problem, it must be set aside. The storm's growing stronger by the second! We need you to make a decision-!"

Varian shook his head. "No!" He grabbed Rapunzel by her shoulders, turning her away from Nigel. "No, no, no, no, please! Please, Princess, you.. Wha.. You promised you'd help me! You promised!" Suddenly, he was dragged away from her and down the hall. "Rapunzel! Princess, my dad needs help!"

As he was dragged away, she reached out for him. "No, don't hurt him!"

"Rapunzel!!!" He was dragged out of sight, but his voice still echoed through the halls. "You promised! You promised!!!"

Despite struggling to go back for help, Varian was brought to the front of the castle. "No, no, my dad needs help, please, take me back!"

"We can't do that. You crossed the line." They opened the doors, throwing him out into the blizzard. "Return to Old Corona immediately."

Varian sat in the cold snow on his knees, helplessly looking up as the doors shut. "No.." He mumbled, hot tears running down his freezing cheeks. "I.. I'll find a way.." He got up slowly, wincing since he had hurt his arms and legs on the icy steps. He carefully made his way down, shivering as he traveled back in the cold to his village.


	13. Amber Eyes

It had taken Varian a little longer to get back to the village this time, but when he made it to Old Corona, he ran as quickly as he could. He slipped a little through the snow, but quickly made his way up the steps.

"Dad! Dad! I'm back!" He rushed inside, making sure to keep the cold out.

He rushed into his lab again, slamming the door shut as well. "Dad! Dad, the Princess refused to help, but I.." He stopped, seeing his father had been fully encased. "Dad..?"

At the sound of Varian's voice, Calamity looked up, turning around. "Varian.."

"Cal, wha.." He looked frantically between her and his dad before rushing over to the amber, leaving her on the floor. "Oh no.. No no no no.. No. No!" He pounded his fist against the amber, looking up at his father's face. "Dad! Daddy..! No..." He began to sob, reaching out to hug what he could, though the amber prevented him from doing so. "No no no no.. No.."

Cal got up, though she felt weak from the grief that had her on the floor. "Varian.." She mumbled, gently pulling him away from the amber. She hugged him, and he clung to her, sobbing into her shoulder. "Shh, I'm here.." She sat on her knees, though the sadness wanted her to fall to the floor with him and never get back up. Petting his head and rubbing his back, she comforted him as best she could, trying not to break out into cries of her own.

Calamity turned him to look away from the amber in hopes he would calm down, only to be faced with it herself. After a few moments, Varian looked up to her, slowly meeting eyes. The amber color in them shined even brighter now, causing him to move back from her. "Varian..?"

"Cal.. Your eyes.."

She looked at him confused, her left hand touching her left cheek. She slowly got up and went to a small mirror in the lab, looking at her eyes.

The amber. It matched them perfectly. A bright, brilliant yellow that now brought Varian so much pain.

She turned back to look at him, but quickly turned her gaze away so he wouldn't see them. "I-I'm sorry.. I-I should just.." She took deep breaths, now struggling not to cry in front of him. He had just lost his father, she didn't want him to worry about comforting her. She rushed over to her own little space in the lab, leaning over her ruined art table that a rock had grown through. She sobbed as quietly as she could, while Varian turned back to the amber, curling up in front of it as he cried.


	14. Promises Broken, Vows Made

A few hours had passed since Varian came home, and night had fallen in Old Corona. Calamity glanced out the window, seeing the snow clear almost instantly. She sat up at the broken desk, slowly and weakly standing to go to the window sill. She leaned on it, looking outside.

"Varian.. The snow cleared.." She mumbled, looking back at him. She frowned, seeing him still huddled up on the floor in front of his encased father. "Varian..?" She mumbled, slowly stepping over to him.

"They're going to pay.." He muttered, causing Calamity to stop in her tracks.

"What..?" She kneeled down next to him, gently rubbing his shoulder. "Varian..?"

He pushed her hand back, turning away from her. "They're going to pay for what they did." He spoke a but stronger, slowly looking up to his father. "They all abandoned us. They turned their backs on us.." He looked back at Cal before slowly standing.

"Var-?"

"I've got work to do.. I'll make anyone that gets in my way pay. So.." He stood hee up, having her look directly at him. "Don't get in my way, Calamity."

She looked at him, clear fear in her eyes. He was calm, but serious and dark in tone. She was silent for a moment before his voice rang out again.

"No matter what, don't get in my way. I don't want to hurt you.." He brought a hand up to cup her cheek. "You'll be safe as long as you stay with me."

She tilted her head away from his hand before sighing, leaning back into his touch. "I'll.. I'll stay out of your way.." She mumbled, looking up into his eyes.

One look into her eyes, and Varian was reminded of what he had to do. He let go of her, turning back to go to his desk. "You might not want to stay in here, but don't worry about me.. I'll be fine in here.. Just go back to the house and try to relax.."

She stood there in the middle of the room, looking back at him. "Okay.. I'll just.. Take care of Ruddiger.." She knelt down, picking up the raccoon before leaving the lab.

As soon as she shut the door to the house, Cal leaned against it, letting go of Ruddiger and sliding down to sit on the floor. She curled up, her head resting on her forearms as she began to cry.


	15. The Truth Hurts

The 2 weeks after the storm were quiet in Old Corona. Nearly the entire village was torn to ruin, and without their leader, the villagers fled to the capitol for safety. Only 3 people remained: one vengeful, one encased, and one scared and alone.

Varian almost never ate, amd when he did, it wasn't for very long. Calamity was left alone in the house while he remained in his lab or walked through the village to study the rocks.

As another day was ending, Calamity ate alone once again in her room, sharing her food with Ruddiger. She hadn't known that Varian had left about 2 hours earlier, or that he was now at a riverbank examining rocks.

He was busy looking between his notes when a sudden sound of glass hitting the rocks grabbed his attention.

"Well.." He mumbled to himself, getting up to grab the tiny flask. "What have we here?" He held it up to the remaining sunlight, seeing a few drops of a purple liquid. "A potion?" He hummed in thought for a moment before a small smirk tugged at his lips. "This should come in handy.." He grabbed his satchel, packing up his notes and placing the vial inside before starting his journey back home.

In the middle of the night, Calamity was shaken awake. She shot up in bed, looking up in a panic to see Varian looking down at her. "Varian..? What time is it..?"

"Shh, it's okay.. I need your help with something.." He whispered to her, giving her soft eyes and a gentle touch to her hand.

She glanced down, a weak smile on her face. This had been the first time he showed her any kindness since the storm. She looked back up to him, smiling softly. "Okay.."

She slowly got up and followed him out to the lab. "What did you need help with..?"

"Oh, nothing much.. I need you to try something for me." He grabbed a purple cookie from a tray, holding it out to her. "Eat this."

She looked at the cookie before looking back up into his eyes. "A cookie..?" She mumbled, taking it cautiously from his hand.

"Trust me, it'll be okay.."

She looked back to the cookie, sighing before mumbling an "okay" and taking a bite. When nothing bad happened, she looked up at him questioningly. "Is this supposed to do something?"

"What did you do today?"

Without a second thought, she spoke. "I played with Ruddiger-"

'Wait.. What's going on? I was still thinking of what to say while I said it..'

Varian laughed a little, smirking at her from across the room. "Anything else?"

"I took him outside and picked apples from the orchard--" She paused, covering her mouth. "Varian.. What's going on..?"

"I'm testing out a truth serum.. I couldn't tell if it would work all on my own, and thankfully you're still here." He made his way back over to her, taking her hand. "Come here.. Sit down, Cal." He guided her to sit into a chair, which she was okay with until he had cuffed her hands behind her back.

"Varian..!?" She looked up at him, her voice strained as she started to panic.

"Oh, I won't hurt you.. You just have to cooperate. I can't have a test subject if you don't stay here." He sat in front of her with his notebook out. "I need to observe how it affects you. And I am so sorry for the late hour, but I can't waste any time.. So, let's make it easy for you, okay? Just let it happen and tell me why you were in the lab when I got back."

Cal got scared. His eyes were cold and unforgiving. If she said the wrong thing, he might be mad, and who knew what he would do to her for that. She stayed silent, able to fight off the serum, only the start of a sentence slipping through.

"I just.. I.. Just.."

"C'mon Cal, look at you.. That looks like it's hard to hold back.. Just tell me.."

She grit her teeth, leaning forward in her seat as she bowed her head. Holding it back was getting overwhelming, and she held her breath after every burst of words. "I.. I just.." She mumbled, looking up at him with weak eyes. She finally gave up, shouting her words.

"I just needed to get Ruddiger..! You said to take care of him!"

Varian leaned back in his seat, writing something down. "Huh.. Doesn't look like it's strong enough.. I need to make some adjustments." He stood up, heading over to his desk. "I'll lose the time for how long this one takes to wear off, but.. I need something stronger you can't resist. I need to make it more concentrated." He put his goggles on, a hiss of chemicals starting to echo through the room.

After a few minutes, Cal had managed to calm down and looked up at Varian, now holding a vial filled with purple liquid. "Let's try this again, shall we?" He hummed, lifting her head up by holding her chin. "Drink this.."

"I don't-" She mumbled, her words being stopped as he pushed the vial against her lips. He tilted it up, forcing her to drink it. She tried her best to avoid swallowing it, but there was too much, and she ended up drinking all of it. He slipped the vial away when it was empty, dropping her chin and leaving her gasping for air.

"Now.. Why didn't you help my dad?"

She looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes. "Varian.."

"Answer me!" He shouted, lifting her face up to look at him. "You're only making this harder for yourself by resisting!"

He was right. This one had already kicked in, and she began to get a headache from how hard she clenched her jaw shut. She felt a small pain in her throat as she began to speak, her vocal chords barely in her control. "I... I-!" She gasped, flinching back as she heard glass shatter on the floor.

He had slammed the empty vial down in anger.

"Damn it, Cal, just answer me!"

She dared to look up as she fought back the serum, seeing a few tears drop down his cheeks. "I.. I couldn't..!" She finally gave up, unable to take any more pain. "He was already encased when I went inside!" She cried out her words, her voice a little raspy from her resistance.

He froze after hearing her words. He was silent now as he looked down at his helpless friend. He only snapped out of it when he heard her say his name quietly.

"Varian..? Are you mad at me..?"

He sighed, going behind her and uncuffing her from the chair. "Just go." He said in a strong yet quiet voice. "I need to get back to work.."

She stood up quickly, rubbing her wrists as she looked at him. He was silent once again as he went back to his table, writing down more notes. Without a second thought, she turned and ran out of the lab and back into the house, not noticing the slight look of regret in Varian's eyes as he watched her leave.


	16. Hiding Away

'Rapunzel,  
I need your help now more than never. I may have discovered the key to the rocks. Find the bronze GRAPHTYC in my lab. But be careful. They are watching and will do anything to stop you.'

Varian rolled up the scroll, tying a key to it along with a lantern kite. He took it outside, sighing as he stepped into the early morning light. It was harsh on his eyes after the long night, but he needed to send the message. He lit the lantern, lifting it up to send it out to the capitol. He sighed once again, shielding his eyes from the Sun as he headed inside his house.

"Calamity?" He called out, shutting and locking the door. As if on command, when he walked into the living room, Calamity perked her head up from the couch. "Hey.." He mumbled, his voice raspy from working too late.

"Varian! Hey!" She got up quickly, excitedly rushing over to him to hug him tightly. "You're back.."

Varian stumbled back a little bit, holding his arms out to hover over her. "Hey.. We uh.. We should.." He wrapped his arms around her, one of his hands petting the back of her head. "We should spend some time together.."

She looked up to him, a wide smile on her lips. "Really?" She jumped up, causing him to wrap his arms around her tighter to keep her from slipping. Varian laughed a little, smiling up to her.

"Of course.. I feel really bad about what happened with the truth serum.." He shifted her a little in his arms before carrying them to their shared room, setting her back down on her feet. "I kinda.. Miss you.." He mumbled, brushing her hair back. "I'm sorry I barely spend any time with you.. And ignore you when I'm working in my lab.."

"Varian.." She mumbled, looking at him as he sat down at the edge of his old bed. "It's.. It's okay.. Friends.. Make mistakes.." She smiled over at him, her voice getting softer.

"Well.." He hummed, leaning back a little. "You wanted to spend time with me? Here I am.." His voice was cold, but she was thankful for his words. After that night in the lab, she thought things would never get better between the two of them.

"Okay..! I can get us that big blanket we used to use all the time as kids! It's been a little cold at night lately.." She went to their closet, opening it up and getting the blanket she spoke about. Varian smiled until her back was turned, after which it quickly faded.

Varian looked behind him, out the window, while she was unfolding it. He saw Rapunzel, Cassandra and Eugene heading across the bridge towards his lab, and he quickly shut the curtains just before she turned back around.

"Okay, ready?" She asked, wrapping the blanket around him before cuddling up to him under the blanket. She rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso. "Thank you.. I needed this.." She mumbled, closing her eyes as his arms hovered over her again.

Varian hesitated a little once again before slowly hugging her back, pulling her closer. "You're welcome.." He mumbled, hearing a small clatter outside in what he assumed was his lab.

'They better not be breaking anything..'

His attention was brought back to Calamity as she let out a small yawn.

"I've been staying up a lot.. Worried about you.."

"You shouldn't be worried about me.." He mumbled, looking down at her.

"How can I not worry?" She hummed, looking back up to him.

Varian sighed, looking away. "You need to take care of yourself.. Meaning not staying up to worry about me.." He glanced back at her before laying her head back against his chest. "Get some sleep.. I'll stay right here for you.. I won't leave.."

"But.. Then out time.. Will be wasted.." She let out another yawn, her eyes closing.

He watched her, laughing a little, and it was genuine this time. "You just need to sleep.. Go on, relax.." He leaned his head back against the wall, playing with her hair a little.

"Okay.." She finally gave in, her body relaxing even more under his touch. "I'll.. Spend more time with you.. When I wake up.."

Varian smiled weakly, pecking her forehead. "I'll be busy, but.. You're welcome to be in my lab with me.."

"Mhmm.." She hummed, and he could hear her breathing slow. She fell asleep pretty quickly.

'I feel kind of bad for lying to her.. Putting her through that serum testing, too. Then again, I have plans that need to be done soon, and it was her fault she held it all back.. It was her fault she caused herself any pain, but.. I should have told her I wouldn't get mad.

Though.. I did yell at her..

And she cried.  
I made her cry..

I can't let her get in the way of anything, but she needs me..

Oh well.. Once everything is right, we'll both be okay.'


	17. This Isn't What You Meant

'"But, Varian.. Listen to me.. I'm very flattered for all that you did for me today. But I'm a little too old for you.. And besides.. You have someone here already who sees so much more in you." She turned him around to see Calamity sitting by herself at another fountain. "I think you should make an element after her.. Not me."

Varian took the Cassandrium from his apron, sighing as he attached it to a necklace chain. "Well.. I still wanted to give this to you." He handed it to her, offering her a kind smile. "Friends?"

She returned the smile, taking the necklace. "Friends." She stood up, pointing a finger at him. "You better name an element after her, or I swear.." She laughed, standing up from the fountain. "Now go cheer her up, she needs her best friend right now."'

Varian sighed as he watched Calamity at the edge of the dining table. She had to move her painting supplies since her work table in his lab had been damaged.

Frowning at her sleeping form, he leaned against the doorway to the kitchen, rubbing the nape of his neck. His thoughts were full of guilt, but he felt conflicted yet still.

'I'll make an element for you one day.. Calite.. Just for you, it'll be your light..

But I can't discover it now.. I've got business to take care of.. But I will, one day, when we're okay again..

I promise..'


	18. Small Distractions

It was the last night before Varian could put his plans into action. He had his truth serum cookies made and in a basket so he could take them with him to Corona in the morning. Varian had been working on preparing things in his lab for when he brought the flower home so he wouldn't have to wait when he returned. Calamity had been resting on the couch in his lab since he had moved her from the kitchen table earlier that day. His actions had kept her awake, to the point of exhaustion, and he felt terrible.

When he finished preparing his work station, he sat down on the couch as he watched over her, noticing her stir in her sleep. "Cal..?" He mumbled, rubbing her arm as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Varian..?" She mumbled back, slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Hey.. I moved you here from the table.. You fell asleep while drawing.." He leaned a little closer, brushing her hair back.

"I did..? I'm sorry, but you didn't have to-"

"It's okay- it's okay.." He interrupted her, smiling faintly. "Don't worry.." He hummed, looking into her eyes.

For the first time in the quiet room, the color of them didn't bother him. They didn't remind him of the pain he had been going through for the past few days. She moved a little closer to hug him, but he cupped her cheek, preventing her from moving her head away.

"Cal.." He mumbled, glancing down at her lips before looking back to her eyes, holding her chin very gently.

Her heart raced as she stared back at him in shock. She felt his thumb run just underneath her bottom lip, and he was just close enough that she could close the space between them.

He leaned closer, closing his eyes as she closed hers, but it all stopped when he sighed and rested his forehead against hers. He held her cheek again, and she leaned into it, reaching up to hold it with her own.

"We better get you to bed.." He mumbled, and she sighed, nodding slowly.

"Okay.." She mumbled, feeling confused as he got up and headed for the lab door. She sat there at the couch, staring at her hands as they rested in her lap. His voice caught her attention.

"Cal, you coming..?" He asked quietly, opening the lab door.

"Yeah.." She slowly got up, following him out of the lab and back to the house.


	19. The Alchemist Returns

Varian sighed as he looked back at Cal. After a few hours, he had finally gotten her to fall asleep as the sun was rising. He grabbed his staff from the storm and his basket of truth cookies, and stopped at the front door before Ruddiger ran up to him. He knelt down and pet his head.

"Hey bud.. Not now, okay? I've got to go.." He mumbled, only to see Ruddiger pout. He sighed, smiling faintly at his pet. "Alright.. You can come with, Ruddiger.." He stood back up after his raccoon ran up to sit on his shoulders, chittering happily as they left the house.

After making the two hour trip to the capitol, Varian had politely greeted all of the castle staff, giving them the truth serum cookies. The solution had been strong enough, and they had answered all of his questions about the flower that saved the Queen and the Princess 18 years ago.

Later that day, as the Sun was setting, Varian had followed behind the Princess to the docks. He allowed Ruddiger to run up ahead to distract her, telling him to be careful. As he scurried across the docks, he noticed he had caught the Princess's attention, and he could hear her voice.

"Oh! Ruddiger, where did you come from?"

Varian took the opportunity to jump down into the small boat behind Rapunzel, covering her mouth and shushing her. She looked back in shock, a wide smile on her face.

"Oh, Varian! Where have you been?" She leaned forward, hugging him tightly, though he didn't hug her back. "I've been so worried about you." She leaned back, sitting across from him in the boat.

"Yeah, uh, I've had to lie low.." He held his hands out for Ruddiger, who gladly jumped into his lap. "Cal too.. A funny thing.. The people of Corona aren't too keen on guys who attack their Princess.." He laughed a little, smiling weakly.

"Attack me? You, you mean during the storm? You came for help."

"And you got to see why I needed your help.."

Rapunzel gasped, remembering the sight of his father trapped in the amber. "Varian, I am so sorry.. I had no id-"

Varian held his hand up, stopping her mid-sentence. "You had to save your kingdom, you did what you had to, but you can help me now, Rapunzel. Do you have the scroll?" He asked, holding out his hand for it.

"The scroll! I got it, like you asked-" She reached into her small bag, handing it to him. He smiled, taking it as she continued speaking. "I have no idea what it is, but my dad was desperate to keep it from me."

Varian sighed as he opened it, Rapunzel watching with wide eyes. "Now, it took me a while to translate this old language, but from what I can tell, those black rocks are actually some kind of-- of ancient darkness. Its destructive power can only be stopped by its counterpart... The sundrop. Rapunzel! The.. The flower!"

"You mean the flower? The one that healed my mom and gave me my hair? But.. My dad said it was long gone.."

Varian looked at her with a sad face before humming, holding his chin in thought. "Hmm.. Would you say your dad has been really a reliable source of information?"

"Well, um.."

"No, Rapunzel! No, it's still here. I'm sure of it. Your dad wouldn't just throw away something that could wield that kind of power. A single petal from that flower would solve all of our problems. That's all we need!"

"Yeah, but even if the flower is here, I don't think we can just ask my dad to hand it over."

"Oh, I know we can't.. Which is why we have to steal it.."

As night fell, both Varian and Rapunzel had snuck back into the castle and made their way carefully through the halls. When they reached a large pair of doors, they ran up and backed up against it.

"Ah, Princess, what are we doing here? The flower would most likely be in the royal vault, and that is on the other side--"

"Other side of the castle, I know.. But if we want to get past the vault security, our best bet is to use the underground tunnels, and Herz de Sonne's journal has a complete map of them." She quietly opened the journal room's door, walking up to the podium that held the journal. She sighed before picking it up and walking away. She only made it a few steps before looking up at a portrait of her father. She sighed again. "What am I doing..?"

"Rapunzel, you got what we came here for, come on, let's go!" Varian whispered to her, making his way over to her.

"Taking the journal, stealing the flower.. Varian, these are all acts of treason.."

"This may be my dad's only hope. This.. May be Corona's only hope.. Rapunzel, Corona needs our help."

Rapunzel sighed, looking back at him. "For Corona.." She walked past him, heading out the door. "Come on.."

They ran out into the hall, about to turn the corner when Rapunzel stopped, pushing Varian back to hide against the wall.

"Hey, Blondie!" Eugene said, smiling at her. "Whatcha doing?"

"Doing?" She hid the journal behind her back. "Uhh, I wasn't doing anything." She smiled wide at him, hoping he wouldn't suspect anything.

"Whaddya got there?" He asked, looking over her shoulder.

"What?" She asked, shoving the book back for Varian to hold. "Nothing? Ha, nothing!"

"Right.. Okay, I know you want to be alone, but Cass and I were.." He paused, spotting her looking behind the corner of the wall. When she laughed, he looked at her a bit worriedly. "You okay?"

She nodded her head, eyes closed. "Mhm!"

"Rapunzel..?" He asked in a more serious tone.

She sighed, looking to the side. "Eugene.. How far would you go to find the truth..?"

"Personally, not very far. Frankly, the truth is not all it's cracked up to be. Blondie, you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, sorry, I just.. Have had a lot to process lately.." She smiled up at him. "I promise, I'll talk when I'm ready, okay?"

"Okay.." He cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb across her skin. "Just let me know if you need anything.." He walked, by giving her and Varian the chance to run quickly down the hall. Eugene thought for a moment, turning around. "Uh, Blondie?" When he noticed she wasn't there, he hummed to himself before continuing on.


	20. Herz der Sonne's Tunnels

Using the journal, both Varian and Rapunzel looked for the entrance to the tunnels.

"Princess, over here.. I found the entrance.. Down here!" Varian lifted up a metal plate, jumping down into it. He reached up, helping her jump down as well. The tunnel was dark, and Varian's staff glowed just enough to light their way.

She opened the book, walking down with Varian following behind her. Ruddiger slipped down, following just behind them.

"We have to go this way.." She lead them through, beginning to head down one path before pausing and going down the other. "Um.. That way?" She mumbled, pointing to their left.

Varian lifted up his staff so they could see more of the room. "Wow.. Oh, oh! These tunnels depict an ancient technology of pre-Corona-era--AAA!!!" After waving his light one way, he saw a skeleton with spikes poking out of it. "Uh.. Yeah, this way." He quickly turned, pointing in another direction.

"We've got to be careful.. Herz der Sonne's tunnels may have long been forgotten, but that doesn't mean they're not dangerous.. They are lined with deadly booty traps."

Varian scoffed, laughing a little. "As you can recall, I know a thing or two about booby traps."

"Varian, watch out-!"

As he was walking forward, he stopped, turning back to look at her. "Huh?" He stepped on a lifted stone, causing two arrows to launch forward and hit his staff. "AH! Woah-" He looked at them in fear, knowing they would have hit his head if he were anywhere else. "Well, that's one down.." He said nervously, walking forward again with Rapunzel.

They entered another room with two open doors, which suddenly slammed shut with heavy metal seals, blocking them in. "Uh oh.." Raps said, looking around them. The walls at the sides of the room began to move toward each other, causing both of them to panic. Rapunzel ran first to one wall, trying her best to push it back, only to slide against the dirt with it.

"We're gonna get squished!!!" Varian shouted, dropping his staff to go push the other wall.

Looking down, Rapunzel grabbed a bone and Varian's staff, looking back up to the ceiling. "Pascal, wedge this into the axle to stop it from turning! Hurry!" She handed him the bone, lifting him up on the staff to reach. After the bone was thrown in, the walls stopped moving. "Oh, good! Now go behind the wall to find some sort of release mechanism.." The gears creaked as they moved slightly, and Pascal rushed in as the bone snapped, allowing the walls to move again.

"Pascal!" Rapunzel shouted, moving back to push the wall. Varian followed suit, looking back at the other wall in fear. "Pascal, do something, hurry!!!"

Varian lifted up his left leg as he got closer to the other wall, and the two of them had just barely enough room to breathe as the walls stopped. "Pascal, you did it!"

"I think I'm gonna be sick.." Varian mumbled.

The two of them continued their way down the tunnels, carefully avoiding any traps they could see. Varian paused, pointing to the ground. "Tripwire." They both carefully stepped over it, but Pascal noticed a spider crawling alone the rope. He jumped down and grabbed it with his tongue, to which the others looked back at him worriedly.

"Pascal, no! I need you to carefully let go of that spider.." He did as Rapunzel asked, and both of them sighed in relief. Ruddiger walked up, causing the wire to break. "Watch it!" Rapunzel yelled, ducking down to get both of them out of the way of falling rocks. As the dust cleared, she stood up, looking back at Varian. "Everyone okay?"

She carefully made her way over the rocks, sighing deeply. "We're getting closer to the surface.. We don't want to alarm the guards.."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure they and everyone else have their hands full." Varian shrugged, laughing a bit as he remembered his plan.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing.. Uh, it's just, um, they.. They have their hands full every day!" He laughed again, "Corona, you know? Busiest kingdom on earth." He leaned against a small pillar, only for it to sink into the wall. The ground beneath him rumbled, suddenly breaking and causing him to fall through. "Woah!!!" He shouted, barely hanging on to his staff.

"Varian! Hang on!" Rapunzel shouted, looking over the edge.

"Way ahead of you!" He shouted back, looking down at the dark abyss beneath him. He held on to his staff as she pulled him up, smiling as he was finally pulled to safety. It was only then that more of the floor had began to crumble. "What do we do!?" He asked with a panicked voice.

"I'm gonna go with.. Run!!!" They ran as quickly as they could, being just barely out of reach from the crumbling stone. Rapunzel looked up at the raftors and untied her hair and threw it securely on the beams. "Come on guys, this way!!!" She reached for Varian and Ruddiger, who both clung on to her just as the floor fell through. They were suspended in the air for a moment before they swung their way over to a secure platform, walking through the large archway.

She caught her breath, tying her hair up again. "That was too close.. You are sure this flower is worth it, right? It's Corona's only hope?"

"It should be, but, uh, I'm not really concerned about Corona.."

Raps gasped, looking at him worriedly. "You don't care about Corona?"

"Uh, oh, I mean, of course, I'm concerned about Corona. I love Corona. I just meant, right now.. I'm really concerned about how it's gonna help my dad. Corona, too!" He smiled weakly over to her, backing up to continue their way to the next room.

Looking around the large room, Varian waved his light. "It's a dead-end.."

"No.. This is it. We are right under the vault." She pointed up to the ceiling. "Do you see that trap door?"

"Yeah, how do we get it open?"

"Hmm.." She looked down at the floor, and began to count pillars. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.. Seven pillars. Huh.." She twisted one of the smaller pillars next to her, moving a small a circular panel in tbe floor. As it turned, she clicked it into place and watched the small pillars sink down into the floor. The door above them opened, revealing a long ladder that could be pulled down for them.

They both looked up in amazement before turning back to see a large machine making its way over to them. "Uh, Varian?"

"Fascinating! I believe this is an automaton. A marvel of ancient technology, really. I've heard about them, but to see one--" Behind him, the machine raised its arm, about to smash it down.

"Varian! Look out!" She pulled him out of the way as it came down with a loud thud, crushing the stone floor. After rushing behind a pillar, Varian reached into his bag for a few vials.

"Don't worry, Princess, I've got this.." He ran over, throwing the vials into the automaton's face, the glass breaking and causing an explosion. It stumbled back a step before Varian threw two more vials, causing it to crash back against one of the larger pillars. He looked back at her confidently. "See? I told ya, I got this!"

"Uh, Varian?" She asked, pointing back at the moving machine. Just as he turned to see it, the metal arm came swinging by, throwing him back against the pillar near Rapunzel. He fell to the ground, dropping his staff. He groaned as he looked up, wincing a bit. "Despite the excrutiating pain and the fact that I am about to pass out, the science at work here is spellbinding!" With her help, Varian stood up while holding on to his staff.

"We're gonna need some kind of plan if we're gonna defeat that thing.." She ran over to the other side of the room. "Hey, you! Um, metal-head!"

"Automaton!" Varian corrected.

"Come and get it!" The machine turned and faced her, making its way over. She ducked behind the pillar, making the machine hit it rather than her. "Distract him and draw him towards you!" She shouted over to Varian.

She untied her hair as Varian threw another explosion at the machine, running out of the way before Rapunzel tied her hair around two pillars. Since her hair was unbreakable, it could handle the pressure of the machine walking into it, causing the pillars to crumble, fall and crash over it.

After it powered down, the two of them climbed up on the rubble, Rapunzel using her hair to pull the ladder down. "Come on, let's go!"

Varian looked down at the automaton, humming as he noticed a small cylindrical piece of metal with small spikes poking out of it. He picked it up and placed it in his bag before following the Princess up the ladder.

The vault was dark, but Raps took a small stick and a flint rock to start a flame that brightly lit up the whole room. They watched at the lanterns were lit, and looked at the end of the vault to see the sundrop flower. "There it is! The flower!"

She looked down at it, admiring it. Varian stood a bit behind her, a little shocked that he actually made it this far. The flower was actually here. He made his way over to the glass vase it was kept in, reaching in to take the whole thing.

"Varian! Wait, wait, wait.." She grabbed onto the strap of his bag as he started to walk away. "You said.. You were just gonna take one petal."

"But what if one petal's not enough to harvest what I need?"

"Varian."

"What difference does it make!? It's just sitting here, rotting, anyway!" He freed his bag from her grip, causing it to open a little and sent the empty vial to the ground.

"That vial.. That had Xavier's mood potion in it." He turned and swiped it from her. "Varian, that potion is dangers, you shouldn't be fooling with it."

"There was just one stop left.. But it was enough for me to replicate and modify. I had to be sure the flower was here." His voice dropped as he spoke, glaring at her from across the room.

"So you made a truth serum and gave it to everyone?" She asked, making her way over to him.

"Hah.. You'd be surprised what people will tell you for a cookie."

Rapunzel gasped. "Pete? Stan? How could you!?"

"Oh, do you honestly expect me to be concerned about the welfare of Corona!?"

"But you said you--"

"Rapunzel.. I used you! I begged you and this kingdom for help! Everyone turned their back on me!!! It has to be this way."

She turned around, stepping away before turning back to face him. "I defied a direct order from my father, the king, because I trusted you. We both broke the law!" She sighed, seeing Varian's face begin to have a hint of sadness and regret in it. "Give me the flower, Varian. We can find a way to fix all of this. The rocks, your dad.. Everything. I promise you. I promise. Just.. This is not the way.. Please.."

He looked down to the ground for a moment, but it was too late to turn back now. As the door began to rattle behind him, he glared up at Rapunzel. "Sorry, Princess, but I know firsthand how well you keep promises." He turned back to see the door open, Eugene and Cassandra running through.

"There he is, get him!"

Varian looked back at Rapunzel before throwing down a smoke bomb, a large purple cloud hiding him well enough for him to escape.

And just like that, he was gone.


	21. The Dead Sundrop

Varian came back home, slamming the door to his lab shut. Calamity jumped awake on the couch from the loud and sudden noise, panting heavily as she looked around in fear, her eyes landing on him. "Varian!?" She asked, getting a bad feeling from his appearance. He was scratched up and his clothes were covered in dust and slightly torn.

She got up quickly, rushing over to hug him. "Varian.. I woke up and didn't see you, I was so worried about you.."

He didn't hug back, and only shrugged her off of him. "I have work to do, Cal, I'm fine. Go back into the house."

She looked at him worriedly, shaking her head. "No.. No, I'm not leaving. I barely spend any real time with you, you never tell me what's going on, you.. You don't even talk with me anymore!" Her voice cracked a little as tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Varian.. You've changed.. Tell me what I can do to get my friend back.. Please.."

He kept his back turned to her, not saying another word as he sat his bag down on the table. He paused a moment before opening it, pulling out the flower.

"Varian, that's.." She looked at him with panicked eyes as he plucked a petal and ground it up into an oil. He brought the substance over to the drill he had taken out, spreading it over the drill.

"Varian, what are you doing..?" She asked, watching him start it up.

"Work.. Work, please." He muttered to himself, pushing the still up to the amber. "Work!!!" He shouted, stepping back in disbelief as the metal burst.

Calamity stood just behind him, looking at him with her eyes wide and hee jaw dropped.

"No, no, no!!!" He shouted, pushing the drill away from him. As it smashed against the stone wall, she looked over to it in a panic. "No!!! This is useless!!!" He shouted, going back to his desk to throw his books and papers off of it.

Calamity stumbled back as the pages fluttered to the ground, backing against the wall and sinking to the floor. She let out her sobs, earning a glare from Varian before he turned back to lean over his desk.

"It's like it no longer holds the sundrop's power.." He closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing.

"You mean the flower? The one that healed my mom and gave me my hair?"

"The rocks are demonstrating an actual physical response... To you."

Varian looked back over to the flower, his eyes wide as his eyebrows knitted together. He gasped, picking up the remaining petals. "The sundrop.. Isn't the flower anymore.." He crushed the flower in his fist, holding his hand over a page as it turned to dust. He wiped it away from the page, his voice getting lower. "It's Rapunzel..."


	22. Sending a Gift

It was the night of May 11th, and Varian was yet again busy in his lab. After he came home a couple of weeks ago and lashed out in frustration with his work, Calamity began to fear him. She kept her distance from him, and was even cautious when she brought him food or draped a blanket over his exhausted figure.

She slowly stepped into the lab, holding a tray of food she knew he would barely touch. "Varian..?" She asked quietly, seeing him slowly drop a large hunk of metal into a box. "Can you take a break to eat..?"

He turned around, panting a little from the heavy lifting. "No, I'm okay.."

"Varian, I know you think you can handle it all.. But I don't want you exhausting yourself and end up getting hurt." She set the tray down on his lab table, pulling him away from the box he was at to sit him down. "See what I mean..? You're too light.. I used to not even be able to get you to budge.."

He looked away from her, avoiding eye contact. "I'm fine.." He moved to stand up again, only for her to push him back in his seat.

"Varian. Please.." She mumbled, holding up an apple slice to him.

He looked up to her, sighing before reluctantly taking it from her and eating it. "There.. Are you happy?" He asked, standing up once again.

"No." She said with a more serious tone. "I'm not. More." She mumbled, holding out half of a ham sandwich to him. "Come on.. I know you love these.."

He sighed again, taking the sandwich before looking back up to her. "Yeah.." He mumbled, starting to eat it. "Thank you.." He mumbled, getting quieter as he continued to eat.

"Of course.." She hummed, brushing his bangs back to leave a kiss on his forehead. "Just eat up, okay?" She brushed more of his bangs back as he continued to eat, smiling wider as he relaxed.

She sighed and looked back around the lab. "What are these for..?" She asked, looking back at him. "The pink boxes?"

Varian paused, the bright blue eyes he looked at her with a second ago now going a not dimmer.

"Varian..?" She asked, lifting up his head gently by his chin. "Varian are you-?"

He pushed her hand away, looking away. "I'm fine. I have work to do, you should go." He stood up and moved past Calamity, going back to work and lifting the pieces of metal into the boxes.

"Varian.. You're not going to.."

"I don't have time. This needs to be completed tonight."

"It looks like you'll be staying up late then.. Can I at least stay..? Keep you company..?" She asked, making her way over to the couch.

"Just don't get in my way and you can stay.." He muttered before lifting another piece of metal into a box.

She smiled weakly and sat on the couch, crossing her legs as she reached behind her. Grabbing the blanket on the couch, she wrapped it around herself and watched him with concern as he continued working.

Later on in the night, as the clock in the lab told Varian it was 3 a.m., he had just barely finished his work. He sighed, turning to see Calamity passed out on the couch, her head on a pillow and wrapped up in the blanket. He smiled a little and walked over, picking her up carefully so she wouldn't wake up. "Let's get you to bed.. I don't want you to be in any of the mess that I'm starting.."

He carried her to the house and to their shared room, laying her gently in his bed. He put his blanket over her, laughing quietly as she snuggled into it. She grabbed his arm, pulling him closer. He leaned down, brushing her hair back behind her shoulders.

He smiled sweetly at her peaceful expression, brushing her bangs back to kiss her forehead. "You'll be safe as long as you stay out of my way.. I don't want you to get hurt.."

She had eventually let go of his arm, and he leaned back, pulling the blanket further over her shoulders. "Sleep well.." He mumbled, his hand lingering on her shoulder. "Stay here and stay safe.. I'll be back sometime tomorrow night.."


	23. What Makes a Monster

The next morning, May 12th, was the Princess's birthday. Varian had managed to carry all of the boxes with him to Corona, and placing them at the front of the palace gates along with the numerous gifts that had already been placed there. Once he had finished, he took his now empty cart back to Old Corona, his feet trudging along the ground. A soft light lit up the sky when he finally made it back to the short road that led to his house.

"Nearly 6 a.m... God, I hope Cal isn't awake.." He grumbled, parking his cart outside of the house. He slowly and shakily entered the house, leaning against the front door once it was closed, exhausted.

"Varian?"

Calamity's voice rang out in his ears, and he looked up at her with wide, fearful eyes to see her at the end of the entrance hallway wrapped in the blanket from his lab and hugging a small pillow from his bed. "Cal--" He barely managed to get anything out before she rushed towards him, dropping the pillow only to replace it with him in her arms.

"Varian.. You left again.." She whispered, tugging at the back of his shirt and resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm just.. Happy you're home safe again.."

Varian stared at the wall in shock, not daring to look down at her as his arms were lifted and hovered just barely over her figure. "Cal.. You should be asleep.."

"How can I be?" She asked, relaxing into his arms as she felt them wrap around her. She was squeezed close to him in a hug. She didn't know it, but Varian had started crying.

Crying. He got used to being quiet about it so she wouldn't have to hear him and worry about him any more than she already had been. He hadn't said a word, leaving the two of them in complete silence. He rested his head on top of hers, keeping her close, not even letting go to guide them back to their old shared room.

He hadn't made it too far into the room before stumbling and falling a little in her arms. She was able to catch him, and wrapped her blanket around him instead as they settled down on the small carpet in the middle of the room. They still didn't say anything, but they had both made it clear to each other that one needed the other. They stayed there, adjusting on the floor until they were comfortable enough to be as close as they could.

They stayed silent for hours that day, not leaving each others' sides, even when walking around the small parts of the house. They eventually made it from their room to the lab, since Varian had insisted he do some work. He asked that Ruddiger come with them too, and Calamity had held him while walking in.

The space had become a mess, the failed drill from the weeks before still sitting in the corner. Papers from his rage had remained scattered on the floor. Broken glass littered the floor as well, next to his desk, as a result of him clearing everything off in anger. But the thing that had stood out the most, was the large tarp that was draped over the amber. Varian covered it all so that he could actually work in this space, but also to bear looking into Calamity's eyes whenever he had been forced to be around her. Without another word, Calamity had sat down on the couch with Ruddiger in her lap and Varian had went to work.

After what had felt like hours, Varian had finally finished what he had said was very important business. He collected the results from his work in a small vial, a simple little beaker. He made his way back to Calamity and Ruddiger, a weak smile on his lips. "This is going to help us a lot.. But we need to go outside for it, okay?" Calamity had nervously stood up, holding and squeezing Ruddiger a bit nervously. "Relax," he said, "you can bring him with us."

She agreed, and Varian felt a bit relieved. They left the lab and stood out on the road. The land was now covered in moonlight since it was so late. "Varian.. What are we doing?" Calamity asked, looking around the village with fear. Most of the people had evacuated to the capitol, yet a few stragglers had remained behind and looted several houses and stole precious items that had been forgotten in the panic.

"We.. I.. Am going to give this to Ruddiger.. I need you to hold him for me, please.." He looked at her with pleading eyes, eyes that she couldn't resist. They had always convinced her to stay with him, to forgive him, when she had questioned his actions, even his anger.

"O-Okay.." She mumbled, petting Ruddiger's head gently. "It'll be okay buddy.." She whispered to him, kissing his forehead and then his cheek after hearing him chitter nervously.

Varian had given the serum to the raccoon, and asked Cal to set him down on the ground and go back inside. She did as she was told, petting him one last time before going back inside. She had watched from the front door's window as Varian stood near the now growing Ruddiger. She gasped as she watched him transform into some sort of beast, a near monster. She covered her mouth with a gasp as she watched their pet snarl at Varian, slowly approaching him as he had began to back up. "Woah, buddy.. It's Varian, it's okay.. You'll be okay.." He hummed, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on his forehead. "You wanna go into town, bud?" He asked, looking up into the two big, black eyes that stared back up at him. Ruddiger gave a huff of approval, nudging his nose into Varian's side. "Good boy.. Let me go say goodbye to Cal.."

Varian made his way back to the house, opening the front door to talk with her. "Hey.. Cal.. It'll all be okay.. I'll be back later tonight with something important, okay?" He asked, cupping her cheeks as she looked behind him in fear. "Just promise me you'll stay in your.. our room.. Until everything is over?" He asked, brushing her bangs back. She silently nodded, looking into his eyes once again.

"Okay.." She whispered before heading back inside. She waved to Varian from the window in the door, smiling weakly when he waved back and walked off. She retreated to their room, bundling herself up in his blanket and hugging the pillow on his bed as she stared out the window.

Varian rode into the quiet capitol as the moon rested high above them in the sky. With him fell a large cloud of fog, filling the courtyard just in front of the castle. With this cover that could hide both his and Ruddiger's appearance, he sat with his raccoon in a place that gave him the chance to send his voice throughout the kingdom.

"Hello Corona. Something dark is coming for you. Our King has refused to acknowledge it. In the hopes of keeping his secret, he has lied to you and vilified me. In a matter of days, Corona, this island, and the castle itself, will be overcome by this growth. It has already taken over the outskirts of the kingdom. The key to stopping this destruction is Princess Rapunzel herself. I have asked for help and have been ignored. I will not be ignored any longer. And to make sure I have your attention, I've developed a new serum, and created something special for you all."

Lowering his voice, he pet Ruddiger's forehead again, whispering a quiet, "Go get 'em buddy.."

Once Ruddiger had began his attack, Varian took his bag that held his heavy jacket and his welding mask. Since all the guards had been busy at the front, he was able to sneak in to the palace through a side entrance. After wandering the halls of the palace, he eventually located his target: the Queen.

"Hello, Your Majesty." He said in a low voice. As she had turned around, he took some dust from his bag and sent it in her direction. "Sleep."


	24. Corona Will Pay

In Varian's lab, Queen Arianna had begun trying to break her chains as Varian stood at his desk, looking over his alchemy journal and his findings about the sun drop. After hearing the clatter, her turned around to speak to her.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. You are merely bait to lure the Princess here." He wiped the remaining flower dust off of his drawing of Rapunzel, sighing. "Only the magic of her unbreakable hair can shatter the amber and free my father. I tried asking for help in a civil manner, but was denied by everyone in Corona." He turned, glaring at the Queen. "So, unfortunately, this is my only remaining recourse.."

He made his way over to the tarp-covered amber, pulling it to reveal her father. She gasped at the sight, staring back at Varian in disbelief. "And after you've freed your father?"

"After?" He chuckled, his voice going deeper. "Oh, well, I'm afraid Corona will pay for turning their backs on me. And that's when you should start worrying, Your Majesty."

Shortly after the small conversation the two of them had, Varian could hear small footsteps coming down the stairs to his lab. "Varian?" Calamity asked quietly, holding a tray as she peeked into the lab. "Who are you talking to?" As she made her way further into the lab, she watched Varian as he turned to look at her with a stern glaze as if to scare her out. But it was too late. Calamity had seen that rare but familiar-looking, royal purple dress. Quickly, Cal had set the tray down and went over to Varian.

"You kidnapped the Queen..!?" She whisper shouted to him, guiding him back to his desk. "Varian, do you have any idea what this means!?"

"Yes! I do!" Varian shouted back, not even attempting to be quiet. "It means the Princess is sure to come here and help me!!!"

Calamity shook her head, tears threatening to spill over after being yelled at by him. She grabbed his wrists and pulled him close, yelling in his face. "It means you've committed TREASON, VARIAN!!! You could be arrested, no-- WILL be arrested!!! You could be hanged for this! Is this what you really want!?"

He watched the tears start to stream down her cheeks as the reality had hit her as hard as it should have hit him. But he still believed he was right. He was right.

"You have no idea what they owe me!!! Because nobody paid attention to me, because THE PRINCESS DIDN'T HELP ME!!!" He pushed her away from being so close to him, watching her stumble away. "MY FATHER COULD BE DEAD!!! THIS IS MY LAST AND ONLY CHANCE TO SAVE HIM!!!"

After the shove, Calamity stared back at him with fear in her eyes. "Varian.." She mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper. A small sob shook her body as she held her arms close to her chest. He had gone too far, but she couldn't just leave. Those angry, but blue eyes kept her there.

"You can stay as long as you stay out of my way." He grumbled, turning back around to his desk, looking over his alchemy journal once again. "No more discussing this, got it?"

Calamity glanced across the room to the Queen, bound by her wrists. Arianna gave her a gentle nod as if to console her in the only way she could, a soft smile being passed between the two. Calamity sat down on the couch in the lab once again, and she knew. She knew that as long as both of them were there, they could keep each other safe from Varian.


End file.
